Barcelona is next stop for swimmers on the road to Rio 2016

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...

08 June 2016

Big PB as hurdler David King sets Rio 2016 qualifying time in Swiss thriller

David King became the second University of Bath-based 110m hurdler to set the qualifying time for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when he smashed his personal best in Switzerland on Monday. The Sports Performance graduate, who was supported by the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) during his studies at the University, ran 13.39 at a meeting in Bellinzona. That was 0.15 quicker than King’s previous best, set in Loughborough last month, and well inside the Olympic...

07 June 2016

Sophie Kamlish reigns in Rome with new PB as athletes impress at Diamond League

Sophie Kamlish set a new personal best and there were top-three finishes for Eilidh Doyle and Andrew Pozzi as University of Bath-based athletes produced eye-catching Diamond League displays in Rome and Birmingham. Kamlish, coached by Rob Ellchuk at the Sports Training Village, took 0.08 off her previous best as she won the women’s 100m Paralympic race in 13.36 at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. That equals the second fastest time in the world this year in the...

06 June 2016

Gold and bronze for scholar Jenny Nesbitt in Turkey on GB track debut to remember

University of Bath sporting scholar Jenny Nesbitt added to her growing medal collection by winning both gold and bronze at the European 10,000m Cup in Mersin, Turkey on Sunday. On her track debut for Great Britain, Nesbitt ran 33:45.46 – just a couple of seconds shy of her personal best – to secure third place in the individual rankings behind Turkey’s Esma Aydemir and Italy’s Rosaria Console. Fellow Brits Lauren Deadman and Louise Small finished...

06 June 2016

Trio of Rio 2016 hopefuls looking to sparkle at Rome Diamond League

University of Bath-based athletes Eilidh Doyle, Sophie Kamlish and Andrew Pozzi will be looking to sparkle tonight (Thursday) when they compete in the Rome Diamond League. Doyle lines up in a strong women’s 400m hurdles field at 7.04pm BST – she is currently ranked joint-first with Jamaica’s Janeive Russell in the 2016 Diamond League rankings after winning in Doha last month. Joining Doyle – coached by Malcolm Arnold – at the Stadio Olimpico is training...

02 June 2016

Best win yet for Lisa Whybourn as fellow Team Bath MCTA tennis players impress at French Open

Team Bath MCTA Tennis player Lisa Whybourn got her grass-court season off to a stunning start as she recorded a career-best win on day one of the Aegon Eastbourne Trophy. Whybourn made the most of her wildcard entry by beating number-three seed Kai-Lin Zhang of China 2-6 6-3 7-5 on Monday after a two-hour battle, during which she saved two match points. The 25-year-old, who will face Spain’s Georgina Garcia-Perez in the second round, has...

31 May 2016

Engineering graduate helps England Rugby Women go fourth ahead of Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Amy Wilson Hardy helped England Women finish fourth overall in the 2015/16 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, following a same-place finish in the final round at Clermont-Ferrand, France on Sunday. The University of Bath Integrated Mechanical and Electrical Engineering graduate was on the scoresheet against both Kenya and Spain on the opening day as England topped their group with three wins, the other victory coming against the United States. They beat the US again...

30 May 2016

Pentathlon GB take the positives as Jamie Cooke claims top-ten finish at World Champs

Pentathlon GB Performance Director Jan Bartu believes his athletes will have “learnt a lot” from their experiences at the Modern Pentathlon World Championships in Moscow this week. Jamie Cooke’s ninth-placed finish in the men’s final on Saturday brought to a close a competition that had started brightly with silver in the women’s relay but then proved tricky, with only three of the eight British athletes reaching the individual finals. But with the Rio 2016 Olympic...

29 May 2016

How move to Bath helped swimmer Jazz Carlin turn Olympic heartbreak into Rio joy

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...

28 May 2016

Tough day for pentathletes Samantha Murray and Kate French in World Championships final

Pentathlon GB’s Samantha Murray and Kate French endured a frustrating day at the Modern Pentathlon World Championships in Moscow as they finished 16th and 24th respectively in the women’s individual final. Both University of Bath-based athletes had been well placed during periods of the day, with 2014 World Champion Murray fourth going into the final event – the combined run/shoot. However, despite some strong running, she lost ground to her rivals at the shooting range...

28 May 2016