Four St Mary's Athletes Qualify for Rio 2016 at British Championships

Four athletes from the Endurance Performance and Coaching Centre (EPACC) and Alumni of St Mary’s University, Twickenham have qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Steph Twell, Charlie Grice, Lennie Waite, and Jade Lally all confirmed their qualification at the British Championships in Birmingham held on the 25^th to 26^th June. Steph, who also competed at the World Indoor Championships in March, was crowned British Champion in the Women’s 5000m and guaranteed her place at Rio 2016 with a time of 15:53.35, over a second ahead of second place Eilish McColgan. Charlie, who also competed at the World Indoor Championships, won the Men’s 1500m in a close race with a time of 3:43.41 to claim his place in Rio 2016. Lennie Waite meanwhile secured qualification for Rio 2016 in the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase. Lennie finished in second place in her race in a time of 9:54.06, having previous secured the qualification time for Rio 2016. Alumna of St Mary’s Jade Lally confirmed her place in the Discus at Rio 2016 as British Champion, throwing 59.15m in the final. Speaking of their qualifications Director of Sport St Mary’s said, “Having achieved the Olympic qualifying standards all of the athletes needed to gain a top two finish to secure a spot in Rio. This comes with considerable pressure but all performed brilliantly and can now look forward to preparing for the Games.” Steph, Charlie, Lennie and Jade join five other alumni, students, and athletes from St Mary’s in Rio including Team GB’s Moe Sbihi, Men’s Four Rowing, Karen Bennett, Women’s Eight Rowing, Beth Potter, Women’s 10000m, Joshua Buatsi, Men’s Light-Heavyweight Boxing, and Team Canada’s Leonora MacKinnon, Women’s Epee Fencing. St Mary’s has a proud history of Olympic and Paralympic success. The University’s sporting alumni include Mo Farah, the London 2012 double gold medallist and GB’s best ever distance runner, Rebecca Romero, an Olympic medallist in two different sports rowing and cycling making her one of GB’s greatest ever Olympians, and Moe Sbihi, London 2012 Bronze Medallist and World Champion Rower. Dave Weir, winner of four gold medals at the London Paralympics, trains at St Mary’s using the world-class facilities and support services. As part of St Mary’s contribution to the London Games the University supported athletes from ten different nations and provided Pre Games Training Camps for China, South Africa, Japan and Ireland. Based on London 2012 medals won St Mary’s finished sixth, the highest placed London institution, in Podium’s league table for universities. Lord Coe, the chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and President of the IAAF, opened St Mary’s latest sports facilities. International athletes competing at the Games used these facilities, which continue to provide a sporting legacy for students, staff and local community alike.