Mark Skimming, head swimming coach at the University of Bath, is used to helping students and athletes reach their peak physical condition. But this year he has also been training for his own monumental challenge - trekking 6,000m to Everest base camp to raise funds for the hospital that saved his young son. Albert, now three, was born 13 weeks early and spent his first three months in intensive care after been diagnosed with chronic lung disease. He has...
Swimmers representing the University of Bath finished third in the overall standings after winning 11 medals – seven of them gold – at the British Swimming Summer Championships at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. Charlie Attwood, part of the British Swimming National Centre Bath training group, enjoyed a double success in the 19+years 100m and 200m breaststroke, clocking winning times of 1:00.82 and 2:12.11 respectively. Joe Hulme, also coached by Dave McNulty and Graeme Antwhistle in the...
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games are beginning to feel very real for the four University of Bath-based swimmers representing Team GB this summer as they prepare to head off to Brazil. British Swimming National Centre Bath quartet Jazz Carlin, Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, Chris Walker-Hebborn and Andrew Willis have their final pre-Rio training sessions in the Sports Training Village London 2012 Legacy Pool this week. They will then pack up their Olympic kit and, along with Head...
University of Bath sporting scholar Jay Lelliott will make his international open-water swimming debut next week after being selected to represent Britain at the LEN European Marathon Swimming Championships. The Sports Performance student will contest both the 5km individual and team events at the championships, taking place at Hoorn in the Netherlands from July 10-14. It is a new challenge for Lelliott, who has represented Britain in the pool but only tried open-water swimming for...
University of Bath-based swimmer Siobhan-Marie O’Connor smashed the British 100m breaststroke record on her last competitive outing before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Swimming at the Scottish National Open Swimming Championships, the 20-year-old dominated throughout and touched the wall in 1:06.34 – beating the previous record set in the same Tollcross International Swimming Centre pool by Sophie Taylor during the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. O’Connor admitted she was surprised by the time, especially as she...
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...
Jazz Carlin won two gold medals and Chris Walker-Hebborn secured a brace of silvers as University of Bath-based swimmers continued their Rio 2016 Olympic Games preparations at the Mare Nostrum competition in Barcelona. Carlin went eight seconds faster than anyone else in the field as she won 800m freestyle gold in 8:25.23 on Saturday. She then clinched another comfortable victory in Sunday’s 400m freestyle final on Sunday, her time of 4:05.69 being almost four seconds...
The four University of Bath-based swimmers selected for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will continue their preparations in Barcelona, Spain this weekend. Jazz Carlin, Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, Chris Walker-Hebborn and Andrew Willis – who train with the British Swimming National Centre Bath at the Sports Training Village – will compete at the Mare Nostrum meeting along with the 22 other selected Olympic swimmers. British Swimming Head Coach Bill Furniss said: “We know the event is going...
Swimmer Jazz Carlin says her move to the University of Bath was a key factor in helping her go from London 2012 heartbreak to Rio 2016 delight. Commonwealth champion and World medallist Carlin is finally set to make her long-awaited Olympic debut this summer after being officially selected for Team GB. She is one of four British Swimming National Centre Bath swimmers in the squad – along with Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, Chris Walker-Hebborn and Andrew Willis...
Chris Walker-Hebborn and Siobhan-Marie O’Connor won their second relay gold medals of the week as University of Bath-based swimmers finished the LEN European Aquatics Championships on a high note. Jazz Carlin also claimed 400m freestyle silver as Britain, despite being in heavy training for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, finished the competition in London with an impressive 22 medals. The penultimate swim of the event saw O’Connor team up with Kathleen Dawson, Chloe Tutton and...
