Another World Cup medal moves wheelchair fencer Piers Gilliver closer to Rio 2016

University of Bath-based wheelchair fencer Piers Gilliver won his fifth World Cup medal of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualifying campaign after another impressive display in Canada. Epee bronze in Laval maintained the 21-year-old’s ranking as number one in the world and all but wrapped up qualification for Rio with just two tournaments – the European and American Championships – to go. Gilliver, who went into his latest competition as the top seed, won all...

04 May 2016

Six of the best for University of Bath athletes at BUCS Outdoor Championships

Students at the University of Bath won ten medals – six of them gold – during a fantastic weekend at the BUCS [British Universities & Colleges Sport] Outdoor Athletics Championships. There was double delight in the 400m as Cameron Chalmers and Olivia Caesar won the men’s and women’s titles respectively. Chalmers also helped the University to victory in the men’s 4x400m relay alongside Jacob Paul and Jack Houghton, who were both on the podium in...

03 May 2016

Slow start proves costly as battling Team Bath Netball slip to Superleague semi-final defeat

Team Bath Netball were once again left to rue a slow start against Manchester Thunder as they missed out on a place in the Vitality Netball Superleague Grand Final despite a valiant fightback. The Blue and Gold found themselves trailing 17-6 at the end of a disappointing first quarter of Saturday’s semi-final in Manchester. And while they went to more than match their hosts for the remaining 45 minutes, Thunder – who were beaten just...

30 April 2016

Slider David Swift retires from skeleton after ten years on the ice

University of Bath-based GB Skeleton slider David Swift has announced his retirement from the sport after almost a decade representing his country on the international stage. The 31-year-old from Devon joined the GB programme in 2006 and has featured in more than 80 senior races, including two World Championships. A winner of the overall Intercontinental Cup (ICC) competition in 2015, the former sprinter was consistently one of the fastest starters in the world and was...

28 April 2016

VIDEO: Hundreds roar fundraising S&C coach to new weightlifting world record in Team Bath Gym

Strength & conditioning coach Luke Vella set an unofficial new world weightlifting record in front of a big crowd at the University of Bath Sports Training Village on Wednesday. In the process he has raised thousands of pounds for Bristol Children’s Hospital, who saved the life of his friend and fellow Team Bath coach Bob Smith’s baby daughter. More than 300 people – including the judo, rugby and tennis players that Vella trains at the...

28 April 2016

Ace night for tennis as Blues Awards celebrate another great year of student sport

Natasha Starling was named as the University of Bath’s Sports Personality of the Year during a great night for tennis at the annual Blues Awards ceremony. The Business Administration student topped a poll of members of the Students’ Union Sport from a shortlist that also included fellow tennis player Alex Walker, swimmer Jay Lelliott and archer Lizzy Rees. She was presented with her award by the University of Bath Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell (pictured)....

28 April 2016

Swimmer Jazz Carlin strikes Rio 2016 gold with 100 days to go until Olympic Games

With 100 days to go until the 2016 Olympic Games, University of Bath-based swimmer Jazz Carlin can say she has already struck Rio gold. Carlin, part of the British Swimming National Centre squad at the Sports Training Village, was invited by The Royal Mint to mark the 100-day countdown by striking an official Team GB gold-edition 50p coin. It comes a week after the Commonwealth champion was officially selected by Team GB for this summer’s...

27 April 2016

Dazzling Lightning show fires up Team Bath Netball ahead of Superleague semi-final at Thunder

Team Bath Netball will head into this weekend’s Vitality Netball Superleague semi-finals with confidence soaring after finishing the regular season with an emphatic 75-55 win at Loughborough Lightning. Saturday’s result – Team Bath’s biggest of the season in terms of goals scored – extended the Blue and Gold’s winning run to four matches and was their third successive victory on the road. Standing in their way of a Grand Final place is a table-topping Manchester...

26 April 2016

Rio Olympians and Tokyo hopefuls named in GB squad for home European Swimming Champs

Four Rio-bound swimmers based at the University of Bath and two targeting the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have been selected in the Great Britain squad for next month’s LEN European Championships in London. Jazz Carlin, Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, Chris Walker-Hebborn and Chemical Engineering graduate Andrew Willis are among the 26 Team GB swimmers who will compete at the home Europeans as part of their Olympic Games preparations. British Swimming National Performance Director Chris Spice said: “This event...

26 April 2016

Judoka Ben Fletcher closes in on Rio 2016 place after highest-ever finish at European Championships

Team Bath judoka Ben Fletcher is back in the automatic qualification places for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after producing his best result at a senior major championships to date. The 24-year-old’s seventh-placed finish at the European Judo Championships in Kazan, Russia on Saturday lifted him back up to 29th in the Olympic qualification rankings for the -100kg weight category. With just one month of the two-year qualification period remaining and no more major tournaments...

25 April 2016