Eiffel Tower with Olympic rings for Paris 2024CategoriesAnnouncement

#PathwaytoParis: a Paralympics preview

#PathwaytoParis | A Paralympics preview

With a week to go before the start of the Paralympic Games in Paris, let’s take a look at the University of Birmingham staff, students, alumni and affiliates who are heading to the French capital for the 2024 Summer Games – the first time the Para Games have been held in France.

 

Para Athletics

Law and criminology alumna and UoB Athletics Team Scholar Didi Okoh suffers from a rare medical condition called lymphedema, causing swelling in her leg due to excess fluid collecting in tissues. 2024 National long jump champion Didi will compete in the T63 100m.

16-year old athlete Maddie Down, a UoB School athlete who has cerebral palsy, will attend her debut Games with Team GB. Maddie, who has trained through alumni and staff members Dean Miller and Hannah England’s academy, will be competing in both the T38 Long Jump and the 100m.

 

31 August

10.08am | T38 Women’s 100m Round 1 (Maddie)

7.06pm | T38 Women’s 100m Final 

5 September

9.04am | T38 Women’s Long Jump Final (Maddie)

7 September

10.27am | T63 Women’s 100m Round 1 (Didi)

8.22pm T63 Women’s 100m Final

Didi Okoh with a bronze and gold medal
Didi Okoh

Para Canoe

Reigning KL3 canoe sprint Paralympic champion Laura Sugar MBE will take on her third Games at Paris. Laura trained as a PE teacher at the University in 2014 and got gold at the last Games in Tokyo, so she will be looking to reclaim her title this year.

 

6 September
10.55am | Women’s Kayak Single 200m – KL3 Heats

8 September
9.42am | Women’s Kayak Single 200m – KL3 Semis

11.07am | Women’s Kayak Single 200m – KL3 Final A

Laura Sugar MBE at the University of Birmingham Sports Awards
Laura Sugar MBE

Para Cycling

University of Birmingham Sport & Fitness Hall of Famer Lora Fachie OBE will be also looking to keep hold of her Pursuit Champion title – taking home both gold and silver at Tokyo and gold and bronze in Rio.

 

30 August 
1.12pm | Women’s B 1000m Time Trial – Qualifiers 

3.34pm | Women’s B 1000m Time Trial – Final

1 September
10.22am | Women’s B 3000m Individual Pursuit Qualifiers

1.31pm | Women’s B 3000m Individual Pursuit – Final

Lora Fachie with her Hall of Fame Award, standing in front of the Sport of Fitness/Hall of Fame sign.
Lora Fachie MBE

Para Rowing

Alumni Annie Caddick and Josh O’Brien will be attending their debut Games with the GB Para Rowing team. Annie will compete in the PR3 mixed double sculls, and Josh, who started rowing as an alternative to football following an injury, will compete as part of the PR3 mixed coxed four.

30 August
10.30am | PR3 Mixed double sculls (Annie) Heats

11.10am | PR3 Mixed cox four (Josh) Heats

31 August

10.10am | PR3 Mixed double sculls Heats

10.30am | PR3 Mixed cox four Heats

1 September

9.30am | PR3 Mixed double sculls Final B

9.50am | PR3 Mixed cox four Final B

11.10am | PR3 Mixed double sculls Final A

11.30am | PR3 Mixed cox four Final A

Josh O'Brien

Para Triathlon

Joining the largest ever Para triathlon squad heading to the Games is Cardiovascular Sciences Masters alumna Megan Richter, who will compete in the PTS4 category, and Paralympic veteran Alison Peasgood. Alison will compete in her third consecutive Paralympics in the PTV1 Women’s category – and first after having her son in 2023.

1 September
9.25am | Women’s PTS4 (Megan)

2 September

9.10am | Women’s PTV1 (Alison)

Sports scholar Megan Richter wearing her British Triathlon kit, smiling at the camera
Megan Richter

Team behind the team

Penny Briscoe OBE continues her role as Para Team GB’s Chef de Mission, a position she has held since 2014 as well as being the Director of Sport for the team.

As Para GB’s most successful ever Chef de Mission, Penny has facilitated an environment in which both athletes and staff can thrive, and ensured that para-sport continues to develop nationally and internationally.

 

Maimee Titmuss-Morris, the University’s first Performance Lifestyle Lead, is now the Performance Lifestyle Coach for British Gymnastics and British Triathlon and is accompanying Team GB as the Staff Wellbeing Manager.

Penny Briscoe talks to Lora Fachie at Hall of Fame event
Penny Briscoe OBE

London 2012 Paralympian and T37 1500m European medallist Dean Miller will be the Endurance Coach for Team GB. Dean is an alumnus and staff member and has worked with both athletes heading to Paris.

 

Vicki Barker, who was Guild VP for Sport (2013-14) and Captain of the UoB Gymnastics Club during her time at the University, is off to the Paralympics working on Women’s Rugby management.

Dean Miller will join team GB's Games staff as Athletics Team Coach for Endurance
Dean Miller
CategoriesAnnouncement

#PathwaytoParis: Our Olympians

#PathwaytoParis | Our Olympians

It’s been an incredible two weeks of sport on the world-class stage, and as the world takes a break before the start of the Paralympics (28 August), we take a look back at how our staff, students, and alumni fared at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

 

Athletics

Georgia Bell ran the race of her life for Team GB and got bronze – and a national record – in the Women’s 1500m.

 

Hannah Kelly ran the second leg of the Women’s Team GB 4x400m heats, playing a crucial part in the team going on to win bronze in the final.

Imranur Rahman competed in the Men’s 100m for Bangladesh, and although he placed 6th in his heat and didn’t qualify for the next round, Imranur ran a season best of 10.73, with the quickest reaction time of his group. 

Georgia Bell holds GB flag above her head. She has her GB kit on and her race number.

Cycling

Anna Henderson, Sport & Exercise graduate, won one of GB’s first medals in her incredible effort in the Women’s Individual Time Trial event, taking the silver in her 41-minute-9.83-seconds race. Anna navigated two broken collarbones in her 2024 season and a slippy course on the day to get on the podium at her first Olympic Games. 

Hockey

The hockey competition saw five alumni in the GB squad and current student Hannah Pearce play for Team South Africa. In a semi-final clash that saw GB pip RSA to the post with a 2-1 win, the women fought hard against the Netherlands, who then went on to claim the gold, with a goal from alumna Hannah French.

Rugby Sevens

Former TASS scholar and alumna Heather Cowell competed with GB in the group stages of the competition, and made it through to the quarter-finals. Heather scored a try for the team in their first game against Ireland and they won 21-12. Then, in the quarter-finals, GB took on Team USA, which ended 7-17.

Heather Cowell faces camera in her red Team GB rugby sevens kit, smiling and right fist in the air

Swimming

Current scholar Ollie Morgan, coached by UoB Sport coach Gary Humpage, swam in multiple events, including the Men’s 100m backstroke, where he reached the final, and the Men’s 4x100m backstroke final, where he swam alongside Adam Peaty, and produced his fastest time of the week. Ollie also got to the semi-finals of the 200m Backstroke – an incredible achievement for his first ever Olympic Games.

Megan Richter in front of a black backdrop smiling at cameraCategoriesAnnouncement

#PathwaytoParis: Para-triathletes Paris-bound for Team GB

#PathwaytoParis | Para-triathletes Paris-bound for Team GB

Cardiovascular Sciences Masters alumna Megan Richter will attend her first Olympics with Team GB as part of the Para Triathlon squad, and Olympic veteran Alison Peasgood will compete in her third consecutive Olympics – and first after having her son in 2023.

 

Having been a para-swimmer in her early teens, Megan is no stranger to winning medals. She made the switch to Triathlon in 2017, where she promptly went on to win gold for Great Britain at her first event, the World Triathlon Para Cup Funchal. Despite missing the 2023 season, Megan smashed the 2024 season with five podiums ahead of Paris; a succession of silver and gold medals achieved across a PTS4 Women’s Cups and Series, which leaves her in very good stead for the upcoming Games – her first Paralympics.

Also in the Team GB Para Tri team – the largest ever squad – heading to France in a matter of days is seasoned paratriathlete Alison Peasgood. Alison achieved a silver in Rio 2016 – the first year that Paratriathlon became an Olympic sport – and is also 2 x World and 3 x European champion, so she is used to placing on that podium. Alison has also had an impressive return to the sport after giving birth to her son in 2023.

Speaking to Paralympics GB, Alison said it’s been an emotional rollercoaster [getting to the point of qualifying] for her third Games.

‘It’s taken a village to get me to this point and I’m grateful to all of them for their support. I am looking forward to representing ParalympicsGB alongside my amazing guide Brooke. Not sure what my son Logan will make of it all, but I hope one day he will be proud to have been part of this journey with me.’

 

CategoriesAnnouncement

#PathwaytoParis catch up: Awesome Athletics alumna bring home bronze

#PathwaytoParis catch up | Awesome Athletics alumna bring home bronze

It’s been an astonishing final few days of the Paris games for Birmingham representatives, with two alumna winning a medal a piece in the Athletics competition. It was a proud podium moment for both Georgia Bell in the 1500m, and Hannah Kelly in the 4x400m, who secured brilliant bronze in their races for GB.

Georgia Bell

Two years ago, if you’d told alumna Georgia Bell that she’d be swapping the parkruns of London for a podium at the 2024 Paris Games, she might have thought that was just a dream. But imagine the reality: quitting a successful track career in 2017 due to the pressure it was putting on your body, going for a causal parkrun in 2022, and then becoming a Summer Games medallist at 30 years old, all whilst working a challenging job in cybersecurity. It’s been quite a couple of years for Georgia, and we were so excited to see her not only get a brilliant bronze in the final of the Women’s 1500m but also run a British record in the process!

After coming second (3:59.49) in the semi-final behind Olympic- and World-record holder Faith Kipyegon from Kenya, Georgia faced the world’s best in the final on 10 August. With just under two seconds separating first place and third, Georgia ran the race of her life to break the British record and make the podium in an incredible 3min 52.61seconds. Not only was it Georgia’s debut Games, but the final was also the fastest women’s 1500m race in Olympic history.

Hannah Kelly

If that wasn’t inspiring enough, 9 August saw staff member and former UoB student Hannah Kelly take to the track with her teammates for the 4x400m Women’s relay heat. Hannah took the second leg of the relay for Great Britain, and the squad smashed the challenge, coming in second overall behind USA with a time of 3:24.72 – a miniscule .01 of a second ahead of the third-place runners, France, and a season best for the team.

This success enabled the GB 4x400m team to progress to the final, where Hannah’s teammates ran a national record and came away with a bronze medal for the whole squad. On becoming an Olympian, Hannah said on Instagram that ‘it’s going to take a while for this one to sink in’. Congratulations Hannah!

Swimming club member in poolCategoriesAnnouncement

#PathwaytoParis catch up: Hockey, Swimming and Athletics – Day 11

#PathwaytoParis catch up | The Birmingham contingent in Paris

The Athletics competition started, and in it were a few familiar faces – namely, Georgia Bell and Imranur Rahman starting off proceedings with their events. Ollie Morgan was back doing what he does best, and the women’s hockey team saw Hannah French score another goal for the GB side in what was to be their last Olympics appearance this year.

Athletics

Alumnus Imranur Rahman competed in the Men’s 100m for Bangladesh, and although he placed 6th in his heat and didn’t qualify for the next round, Imranur ran a season best of 10.73, with the quickest reaction time of his group. A pretty impressive effort with the eyes of the world on you!

News just in: alumna Georgia Bell qualified from her heat for the Women’s 1500m with a run of 4.00.29; second in her race! ‘Comfortably qualifying’ as well as GB teammate Laura Muir, Georgia will face the next rounds over the next few days, so we have everything crossed for her!

Hockey

The women’s GB team faced world number one side the Netherlands in the quarter-final yesterday, and despite a goal from alumna Hannah French – again! – at 20 minutes in at a penalty corner, the women just weren’t able to achieve the lead. The Dutch team sprinted off the first whistle strong, scoring less than one minute in, and then increasing their lead to 3-1 by full time. 

Swimming

Ollie completed his debut games with a 200m Backstroke semi-final in which he finished 6th. Just a few days later, Ollie was part of the men’s 4x100m relay team alongside Olympic royalty Peaty, Richards and Scott, and it was here he produced his fastest time of the week, starting off the medley with a 52.83 split. Speaking to Eurosport, Ollie said:

‘I’m happy with that, it was my fastest this week so to be stepping up on day nine and producing that I’m really happy. We would’ve liked to be in the medals but I’m sure we’ll be back.
 
‘Seeing all the support we get from back home and here, seeing countless GB flags around the arena, I’m just really happy to be stepping up with these three boys.’

Read about all of our confirmed athletes, coaches and support staff in Paris at the link below, and stay tuned for more #PathwaytoParis updates.

University official press release
Girl playing hockey in UOB Sport & Fitness kitCategoriesAnnouncement

#PathwaytoParis catch up: Swimming and Hockey on Day 7

#PathwaytoParis catch up | The games for Birmingham alumni so far

It’s been another busy few days for our representatives in the French capital, including a GB v South Africa head-to-head in the women’s hockey group games, and Ollie Morgan is back in the pool for the 200m Backstroke competition.

Hockey

It was a clash of the Birmingham representatives on Day 5 of the Games when the women’s GB took on South Africa in their penultimate Pool B game.

Team GB Hockey Olympics Paris 2024

An interesting one for us at home to watch having Birmingham representatives on both sides of the pitch – with five alumni playing for the home team – Amy Costello, Hannah French, Lily Owsley, Flora Peel and Anna Toman – and current scholar Hannah Pearce playing for South Africa. 

After RSA scored the first goal of the match, at just 19 minutes in alumna Amy Costello came back fighting with GB’s first goal – only to be followed by fellow UoB graduate Hannah French, who took the game into GB’s favour with a goal at 42 minutes. GB women managed to keep the South Africans at bay, finishing with a 2-1 win, sneaking them through the group stages to the semi-finals. 

 

Sadly, this match meant RSA dropped to the bottom of the group and did not make it through to the next stage – but nonetheless an astonishing effort for current student Hannah Pearce.

With another win in the bag, it was then up to GB to take on USA with the hopes of securing their quarter-final spot. 

 

After a tight scoreline of 3-2 at the half-time break, it was important for GB to take control of the game for the final half. With another two goals – one from UoB graduate Hannah French – and no more gained from USA, GB were victorious, ending in a 5-2 score.  

 

They play Argentina on Saturday in a final group game before heading into the knockout quarter-finals on Monday. 

Swimming

Oliver (Ollie) Morgan cheering with arms up in the air in the pool.

Heading back to the pool after finishing 8th in the 100m Backstroke final, current student Oliver Morgan competed in the Men’s 200m Backstroke competition just a few days later, meeting some familiar faces on the way.

Coming in at 5th in his heat, Ollie secured a spot in the semi-finals after ranking 12th overall with a respectable 1.57.56 – beating 100m Backstroke gold medallist Ceccon in the process, who finished 14th, and silver medallist Xu, who did not start.

 

Later on Day 5 saw Ollie back in the lane to compete in the semi-final, where he finished 6th with an impressive 1:57.28 in his group. Despite a great swim against some amazing competition, his placing of 12 overall meant that Ollie unfortunatley missed out on a spot in the final. We’re very proud of Ollie’s performance during this Summer’s Games, and cannot wait to see where this leads him next!

All photos credit: Team GB

Read about all of our confirmed athletes, coaches and support staff in Paris at the link below, and stay tuned for more #PathwaytoParis updates.

University official press release
A group of six cyclists on the roadCategoriesAnnouncement

#PathwaytoParis catch up: Day 4 at the Games for Birmingham representatives

#PathwaytoParis catch up | The games so far for Birmingham alumni

The action kicked off on the River Seine last weekend with a unique Opening Ceremony that saw the athletes sailing through the city to commemorate the start of the games, but how have University of Birmingham representatives – staff, students, alumni – fared so far?

Cycling

Anna Henderson, Sport & Exercise graduate, won one of GB’s first medals in her incredible effort in the Women’s Individual Time Trial event, coming second to cycling royalty Grace Brown of Australia to get a silver podium finish.

Anna henderson looks off camera smiling, holding a water bottle post-race with her Great Britain cycling jersey on

 

From watching Anna’s concentration and grit during her 41-minute-9.83-seconds race, you would be forgiven for thinking she has taken on the Games before – but no, at her debut, Anna won GB’s second medal of the competition. Despite Anna breaking her collarbone twice in the lead up to the Games, she said she has remained motivated for the 2024 season, only to be met by less-than-ideal conditions on the Pont Alexandre III. Rain-drenched roads made the conditions ‘horrible’, Anna deftly navigated the corners to snatch the silver out of the grasp of United States’ world champion Chloe Dygert, who was less than a second behind Anna.

On BBC Breakfast, Anna said that winning her medal is: ‘a bit surreal to be honest, I’m still trying to let it all sink in… I’m grateful to be here and be having this moment… [Paris is a super] special, such an iconic city.’

Hockey

GB’s Women’s squad’s campaign to the podium for what would be their fourth Games in a row started off with an uphill struggle in the group stages – a 2-1 defeat by Spain and a 4-0 thrashing by Australia. Five UoB Sport alumni – Amy Costello, Hannah French, Lily Owsley, Flora Peel and Anna Toman – are in the squad, and are still in with a chance to advance out of their Pool, with four out of six teams qualifying at the end of the group stages today.

 Current scholar Hannah Pearce also suffered defeat with her South Africa team, falling short of the win by 2-1 to Australia in what was dubbed a ‘thrilling’ game, and came up against world number 2 Argentina, finishing 4-2.

Both teams – Great Britain and South Africa – will face each other in the next Pool B game tomorrow (31 July).

Rugby Sevens

Former TASS scholar and alumna Heather Cowell, who first picked up a rugby ball at the University of Birmingham, competed with GB in the group stages of the competition, and made it through to the quarter-finals. It was a busy first day of competition for them – which also saw Heather score a try for the team – with two group games back-to-back: facing Ireland first and winning 21-12, and then struggling against favourites Australia, scoring 5 to their 36.

The quarter-finals saw GB take on Team USA, where they ended 7-17.

Heather Cowell faces camera in her red Team GB rugby sevens kit, smiling and right fist in the air

Swimming

Current student Oliver Morgan also took on his debut in the Men’s 100m Backstroke, fighting his way through to the final against world-record holder Thomas Ceccon to finish 8th.

After qualifying an impressive third in his heat, and then seventh in the semi-finals, Ollie was up against serious competition in the Monday night final – and stood his ground. With Ceccon (ITA) completing the 100m in 52 seconds flat, and silver medallist Xu (PRC) coming in at 52.32, there was less than a second separating the top and bottom spots, with Ollie finishing in 52.84. Sadly this incredible effort was not quite enough to get Ollie onto the podium – this time – but we cannot wait to see to where this experience catapults him.

Speaking to BBC, Ollie said he was ‘slightly disappointed’ with himself but motivated for the next challenge. This comes after breaking the British 100m backstroke record to qualify for the games in April, showing Ollie was certainly up to the challenge. He said ‘[coming eighth] shows how far we’ve come. There is a lot more to come in the future.’

Ollie will also compete in the Men’s 200m Backstroke competition from tomorrow (31 July). 

All photos credit: Team GB

Read about all of our confirmed athletes, coaches and support staff in Paris at the link below, and stay tuned for more #PathwaytoParis updates.

University official press release
CategoriesAnnouncement

Bell beat Muir to secure Olympic spot

Bell beat Muir to secure a spot at the games

PATHWAY TO PARIS – Middle-distance runner and alumna Georgia Bell secured her Team GB spot at the UK Championships in June by running an impressive 4:10.69 to Muir’s 4:11.59.

 

Bell spent several years away from running and working a demanding full-time job, so after becoming British indoor 1500m champion earlier in the year, finishing fourth at the World Indoors in March, and taking silver in the European Indoors in Rome last month, Bell seems to be on an impressive upwards trajectory. She told Runner’s World that she doesn’t take her success for granted:

 

 

 

 

‘I go into every race thinking I want to grab every opportunity, not taking anything for granted, and I’m not afraid – I’ll just go for it and whatever happens, happens.’

The National Champion will compete in the 1500m at her debut Olympic Games.

Josh O'Brien and Annie Caddick Para Rowing teamCategoriesAnnouncement

Paris Paralympics rowing dreams a reality

Paris Paralympics rowing dreams a reality

PATHWAY TO PARIS – Alumni Annie Caddick and Josh O’Brien (Economics) have been selected to represent Team GB at the Paralympics in Paris this summer. 

Both Josh and Annie started rowing in their second year of university, and Annie did so as the inclusivity of the sport, club and teammates appealed to her and made her feel equal, rather than focusing on her cerebral palsy. Annie achieved her Paralympic qualification at the 2023 European Championships where she won bronze, was crowned European Champion in 2024, and will compete in the PR3 mixed double sculls in Paris.

Josh, who started rowing as an alternative to football following an injury, made his GB Rowing debut at the European Championships 2024, taking home the gold. He announced his selection as part of the PR3 mixed coxed four on Instagram earlier this month, crediting the University of Birmingham rowing club for making his dream a reality.

‘Being officially selected to represent Great Britain at Paris 2024 in the PR3 mix4+is a dream come true. Without the help of University of Birmingham rowing club and Mosley Boat Club none of this would have been possible, thank you.’

Ollie Armstrong Athletics Canada Lead Physiologist #PathwayToParisCategoriesAnnouncement

The team behind the team at Paris: alumnus Ollie Armstrong

The team behind the team at Paris: alumnus Ollie Armstrong

PATHWAY TO PARIS – Sport & Exercise Science alumnus and former staff-member Ollie Armstrong will take the role as Lead Physiologist for Canadian Athletics at this summer’s sporting event.

 

Ollie has Birmingham in his blood, having done both his undergraduate and Masters degrees on campus and then coming back as a staff member for six years before happening on a job role with Canadian Cycling that eventually gave him a pathway to Paris. Now working for Athletics Canada, Ollie will be working with both the Olympic and Paralympic squads at the Games, and says it’s been an exciting dream come true.

 

‘It’s pretty surreal [to be involved in the Olympics]… It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid and to follow it through all the way, and do a degree and a Masters and then 12 years working in professional sport, to get to a moment to support athletes all the way through to a Games is pretty special.’

As Lead Physiologist, Ollie works with the athletes on strategies for things such as helping with the acclimation to the heat and cooling, and building common ground and relationships in a way athletes can take on board and turn it into something that means something to them – like winning medals.

Ollie was the Lead Physiologist for UoB Sport & Fitness and says his time at Birmingham was both wonderful and challenging, and helped shape the direction he was going to move in.

‘I’ve worked with different athletes across lots of sports, and this exposure has really shaped my thinking, how I approach things, how I practise, and I’ve worked with so many talented athletes and coaches and practitioners – it’s opened so many doors.’

Ollie is also working alongside fellow alumnus Simon Nathan, a Birmingham graduate who is now the High Performance Director for Athletics Canada.