Judo duo Ben Fletcher and Emmanuel Nartey strike gold at Casablanca African Open

Team Bath judoka Ben Fletcher and Emmanuel Nartey both took major steps on the road to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as they won gold at the Casablanca African Open on Sunday. Gary Hall also claimed his second Continental Open medal of the year during an impressive weekend in Morocco. Victory in the -100kg weight division was the perfect way for Fletcher to celebrate his 24th birthday. “It was a good day’s judo – I’m not...

14 March 2016

Jenny Nesbitt leads GB to team silver at World University Cross Country Championships

University of Bath sporting scholar Jenny Nesbitt led Great Britain to a team silver medal at the World University Cross Country Championships in Monte Cassino, Italy. And she was unfortunate not to collect an individual medal as well after a gutsy performance which saw Nesbitt lead from the front before being overtaken by Turkey’s Sevilay Eytemis and Japanese duo Moeno Shimizu and Maki Izumida in the last 500m. “I’m slightly gutted to just miss out...

14 March 2016

Joe Choong and Freyja Prentice are highest Pentathlon GB finishers during challenging Rio 2016 test event

University of Bath student Joe Choong was the Pentathlon GB team’s highest-placed finisher during a challenging weekend at the UIPM World Cup in Rio, Brazil. Choong, who studies Mathematics, was 13th in the men’s final on Sunday after fine performances in the fencing and swimming disciplines. Jamie Cooke was 19th but Sport Performance student Tom Toolis and Politics & International Relations graduate Sam Curry did not qualify for the final, the latter being withdrawn from...

14 March 2016

No half measures from S&C coach Bob Smith in his marathon fundraising efforts for Bristol Children’s Hospital

University of Bath strength and conditioning coach Bob Smith will run his 11th half-marathon of the year on Sunday when he takes part in the 2016 Vitality Bath Half. It is part of an inspirational fundraising effort by Bob, Senior S&C coach with the Team Bath MCTA International High Performance Tennis Academy, which will see him run a half-marathon every week during 2016 – nearly 700 miles in total. He set himself the challenge to raise money...

11 March 2016

Young Team Bath Netball star Ella Powell-Davies helps England retain Netball Europe crown

Up-and-coming Team Bath Netball star Ella Powell-Davies enjoyed an international debut to remember as she helped England continue their dominance of the Netball Europe U17 Championship. The talented teenage defender, who celebrates her 17th birthday next week, helped the young Roses complete a clean sweep of victories in Gibraltar earlier this month. England’s quality at both ends of the court was immediately clear as they finished the opening quarter of their first match against Northern...

11 March 2016

Pentathlon GB quartet through to final of Rio 2016 Olympic Games test event

All four of the Pentathlon GB women’s team will get to compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic venues for a second time this week after qualifying for the final of the UIPM World Cup in Brazil. University of Bath graduates Samantha Murray, Kate French and Freyja Prentice all progressed through Thursday’s heats at the competition, which is doubling as a test event for this summer’s Olympic Games. Reigning World Junior Champion Francesca Summers also secured...

11 March 2016

Fit-again Freyja Prentice excited to compete at Rio 2016 Olympic Games test event

Freyja Prentice and her Pentathlon GB team-mates will compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic venues today as the second UIPM World Cup of the season gets under way. The competition in Brazil is doubling as an Olympic test event and University of Bath Biology graduate Prentice cannot wait to get started. “I am very excited about competing this week,” she said. “It is always good to get the first competition underway after such a long...

10 March 2016

Young fencer wins national title as Bath Sword Club take on the best of British

Fencers who train with Bath Sword Club at the University of Bath are celebrating a weekend of British Championships success and national call-ups. Seventeen-year-old Ben Bates led the way as he won foil gold at the U23 Championships, an age group in which he still has another five years. He got off to a rocky start in the first round, losing two of his preliminary fights, but rallied and progressed smoothly through the tournament to...

10 March 2016

Sports Massage students get hands-on experience with Bath Rugby Foundation runners at 2016 Bath Half

Students on a Sports Massage course at the University of Bath will be putting their new-found skills to good use on Sunday as they help runners prepare and recover at the 2016 Vitality Bath Half Marathon. For the third successive year, Team Bath Training & Development is the official Sports Massage Provider for the Bath Rugby Foundation team as they take on the 13-mile challenge. This year a team of 150 runners, representing and fundraising...

09 March 2016

Sporting scholar Emma Hurst wins BUCS tennis gold as men’s team reach national final

University of Bath sporting scholar Emma Hurst lived up to her billing as number one seed when she won the women’s singles title at the BUCS [British Universities & Colleges Sport] Individual Tennis Championships. The Sport & Exercise Science student, supported by a Trendell Sports Scholarship, was in impressive form over the weekend as she beat Tatiana Zheleznyak 6-3 6-3 and Jessica Ren 6-2 6-0 to reach the semi-finals. She then overcame number three seed...

08 March 2016