Nearly 2,000 people of all ages got into the Rio spirit on Saturday when they enjoyed a wide range of sports and activities during an Olympic-themed Family Fun Day at the University of Bath Sports Training Village. Free have-a-go sessions in athletics, badminton, fencing, martial arts, tennis and trampolining proved to be massively popular, as did the chance to experience life as a performance athlete through health and speed testing. Children collected stars as they...
Great Britain Bobsleigh pilot John Jackson has announced his retirement after a decade-long career at the top of the sport. The 39-year-old Royal Marine has enjoyed huge success with his country since joining the programme in 2006 but has now decided to focus on family life after the birth of twins last month. Twice an Olympian in 2010 and 2014, Jackson - who trained on the unique outdoor push-track at the University of Bath -...
University of Bath PhD student Dom Parsons recorded another top-ten finish at the Skeleton World Championships in Igls, Austria. Parsons (pictured), who has recently recovered from an ankle injury, was tenth after the first day of competition and maintained that position with the seventh and 12th best runs respectively in heats three and four. It was the third time the Mechanical Engineering student, who is supported by the University’s Dual Career programme, had finished in...
The University of Bath-based British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association is celebrating its best two-man bobsleigh result on the global stage for 50 years. Bruce Tasker and Joel Fearon finished fourth at the World Championships in Igls, Austria on Sunday, just two-tenths of a second outside the medal places. The result was all the more impressive as it was Tasker’s first appearance at a World Championships as a pilot – he still competes as a brakeman...
Laura Deas warmed up for the ISBF World Championships with a fifth-placed finish in the latest round of Skeleton World Cup action in St Moritz on Friday. Deas, who trains at the University of Bath with the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association, was just 0.38secs behind race winner Janine Flock and remains fourth in the overall World Cup standings with one race to go. Friday’s competition also doubled as the European Championships, with Deas just...
Great Britain Bobsleigh are targeting a medal at next month's Championships in Austria after narrowly missing out on the past two occasions. GB, who train at the University of Bath's Sports Training Village, finished fifth in the four-man event at the last two global gatherings in 2013 and 2015, missing out on a bronze medal by just 0.07 seconds in St Moritz three years ago. They were similarly close to the podium at the 2014...
University of Bath-based slider Laura Deas won another medal and the GB four-man bob missed out by just four-hundredths of a second during a highly-encouraging start to 2016 for the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association (BBSA). Five medals were also won by Britain’s young bobsleigh athletes in St Moritz, including a clean sweep of podium places in the women’s race, as GB continued their dominance of the Winter Youth Olympic qualifying competition. Deas, who won...
John Jackson made a stylish return to World Cup action for the first time in nearly two years as he guided Great Britain to eighth spot in the four-man bobsleigh on Sunday. Jackson, who trains at the University of Bath, last competed at the top level at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics (pictured) and missed the whole of last season with a long-standing Achilles injury. He won silver on European Cup duty in Winterberg last...
British Skeleton ace Laura Deas backed up her maiden BMW ISBF World Cup win with a fourth-placed finish in Winterberg on Friday. University of Bath student Dom Parsons, pictured, was seventh in the men's event and there were some strong finishes on the bobsleigh circuits during another encouraging weekend for British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association athletes. Deas, fresh from topping the podium in Altenberg in the opening race of the season, was again in the mix in...
The Great Britain Bobsleigh and Skeleton teams enjoyed a fantastic Friday as they helped themselves to a hat-trick of gold medals at the latest round of qualifying for February's Youth Olympics. Kelsea Purchall took top spot in the women's mono-bob and George Johnston followed suit in the men's field, while Ashleigh Pittaway led the way in the women's skeleton in Igls, Austria. It was a second success in three races for World number one Purchall after...
