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#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.

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
Anna Henderson Cycling #PathwayToParisCategoriesAnnouncement

Inaugural Olympics for alumna Anna

Inaugural Olympics for alumna Anna

PATHWAY TO PARIS – National time-trial Champion and alumna Anna Henderson will join the 30-strong cycling squad heading to Paris for this summer’s Olympics.

Alumna Anna graduated in 2022 with a First in Sport & Exercise Science – the same year she won silver in the Time Trial at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. This year, she takes to the start line for Team GB in Paris with seasoned Olympian Lizzie Deignan, Pfeiffer Georgi and Anna Morris as part of the Women’s Road Race squad. Descried as a ‘brilliant cyclist’ by Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England OBE, Anna had a successful Time Trial season – not only being crowned the National Time Trial Champion of 2024,  regaining her title, but winning silver at the British Road Race Championships last month, despite having to recover from a crash where she fractured her collarbone in May. A real trooper, and hopefully that grit and determination will continue to drive Anna over the finish line at her first ever Olympics!

Selfie of Kacper and Ross at the top of a mountain with the sunset in the backgroundCategoriesEvents

150+ miles in 20 hours | The Longest Day Challenge

150+ miles in 20 hours | The Longest Day Challenge

On Sunday 11 June, two of our UoB Sport and Fitness Operations staff took on an incredible challenge.

 

Duty Manager Kacper, and Senior Duty Manager Ross decided to complete ‘The Longest Day’ challenge as an opportunity to fundraise for British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK, causes close to both of their hearts.

As one of the most intense one day physical challenges, Ross and Kacper underwent six months of training in the lead up to make sure they were as prepared as possible.

Image of climbing rocky cliffs

What is the longest day challenge?

Taking inspiration from the “The Longest Day!” YouTube video documentary from Global Triathlon Network channel, the following activities have to be completed within a tight 20-hour window.

1) Walking the 8-mile Ranger Path to the mountain peak of Snowdon.

2) Cycling 39 miles from Snowdon to Cadair Idris.

3) Walking the 5.5-mile Pony Path loop to the mountain peak of Cadair Idris.

4) Cycling 101 miles from Cadair Idris to Pen-y-Fan.

5) Walking the 4-mile Path to the mountain peak of Pen-Y-Fan.

 

‘After a gruelling 20 hours, we have successfully completed our fundraising endeavour in support of the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research. We have experienced many highs and lows both in relentless rain and scorching sun. Starting at 4am and finishing at midnight, we have conquered three of the highest peaks in Wales and cycled through over half of the country to reach each mountain.’

Map of the 20 hour activities
Selfie of Kacper and Ross sat down next to bike

Kacper and Ross have already exceeded their optimistic fundraising goal of £1,000 and express their heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported them through the journey, both through encouragement and generous donations.

 

Want to support the cause? Donations to the just giving page will go a long way in aiding the ongoing efforts to combat heart disease and cancer, ultimately improving the lives of countless individuals.

Ready to take on your own challenge? Our facilities provide the perfect opportunity to train and build your stamina! Explore our memberships today.

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