University of Bath-based athlete Polly Maton finished a fine seventh on her Paralympic Games debut as she contested the T47 long jump final on the opening day of Rio 2016. The 16-year-old, coached by Colin Baross at the Sports Training Village, produced her best clearance of 5.10m with her opening jump of the competition in the Olympic Stadium. That ensured she was one of the top eight jumpers in the 12-strong field to progress to...
Chris Walker-Hebborn capped an outstanding week for University of Based-swimmers in the pool at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as he helped Team GB’s men to silver in the 4x100m medley relay. That was the fourth silver of the Games for the British Swimming National Centre Bath training group, adding to the two from Jazz Carlin and one from Siobhan-Marie O’Connor. And they went mighty close to returning to the Sports Training Village with five...
University of Bath-based swimmer Jazz Carlin became Team GB’s first double medallist of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when she won 800m freestyle silver in the early hours of Saturday morning. The 25-year-old, full of confidence after claiming 400m freestyle silver on Monday, enjoyed a race-long battle with Hungary’s reigning European champion Boglarka Kapas before getting the edge by two-tenths of a second in 8:16.17. Gold went to outstanding American Katie Ledecky in a world-record...
University of Bath-based swimmer Jazz Carlin will bid for her second medal of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the early hours of Saturday morning after qualifying third-fastest for the 800m freestyle final. Full of confidence after her superb silver medal in the 400m freestyle, Carlin clocked 8:19.67 in the fastest heat of the day to put herself in a good lane for the final (2.20am BST). “I didn’t expect it to be 8:19, that’s...
University of Bath-based swimmer Andrew Willis missed out on an Olympic medal by just eight-hundredths of a second after finishing fourth in the Rio 2016 200m breaststroke final. The 25-year-old, who trains with the British Swimming National Centre Bath, produced another brilliant swim to set a lifetime best of 2:07.78 in a fiercely-fought final that saw the entire field separated by less than a second. A blanket finish saw Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Balandin take gold in...
Siobhan-Marie O’Connor said winning an Olympic silver medal was “the best feeling in the world” after she became the second University of Bath-based swimmer to stand on the podium in Rio this week. And there could be another medal for the British Swimming National Centre Bath training group in the early hours of Thursday morning after Andrew Willis qualified second-fastest for the men’s 200m breaststroke final. Team GB’s O’Connor, born and raised in Bath, produced...
Siobhan-Marie O’Connor will be looking to emulate fellow University of Bath-based swimmer Jazz Carlin by getting on the podium at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The 20-year-old looked in fantastic form as she reduced her own women’s 200m individual medley British record to 2:07.57 to qualify fastest overall for the final, taking place at 3.29am BST. “I’m really pleased because I’ve been trying to go under 2:08 for...
It’s finally here – today’s the day the Rio 2016 Olympic Games officially get under way! What is sure to be a colourful, vibrant and spectacular opening ceremony will start the XXXI Olympiad at 8pm Rio time (midnight in the UK). Fifteen University of Bath-based athletes will be in action over the next 16 days, hoping to emulate the likes of Dr Stephanie Cook (modern pentathlon), Jason Gardener (athletics), Kate Howey (judo) and Michael Jamieson...
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...
