Record Number of St Mary’s Athletes and Alumni win three Commonwealth Games Medals

The record 15 athletes and alumni from St Mary’s University, Twickenham, won three medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Hosted in Gold Coast, Australia, the Games brought together the leading athletics talent from across the Commonwealth to compete in a range of sports. Amongst the athletes and alumni from St Mary’s were Gold medallist Joe Townsend and Bronze medallists Jake Wightman and Simon Amor.

A Strength and Conditioning Science student, Joe won his Gold medal in the Paratriathlon, completing the 750m swim, 20km hand bike and 5km wheelchair race in a time of 01:02:39, 49 seconds ahead of second place.

Joe, a former Royal Marine commando, lost both of his legs in Afghanistan. He previously competed at Rio 2016 in the Paratriathlon and carried the Paralympic flame into the London 2012 Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony.

Jake’s Bronze medal came in the Men’s 1500m race, where he finished one place ahead of fellow EPACC athlete Charlie Grice in the final. Jake and Charlie’s heat in the Men’s 1500m was one of the highlights of the Games for St Mary’s as four of the nine starters were EPACC athletes as they were joined by Rowan Axe and Elliot Dorey. 

Alumnus Simon Amor won the Bronze Medal in the Men’s Rugby Sevens as coach. The team won all of their games in the pools, defeating South Africa 21-14, having lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals. 

Speaking of the athlete’s success, Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, “It’s fantastic to see St Mary’s athletes competing against some of the best sporting talent in the world and winning medals.  The medal winners produced special performances and it was wonderful to see Simon coaching the Men’s Rugby Sevens side to a bronze, adding to the Commonwealth Silver he won as a player.”

Team St Mary’s Athletes at the Games: 

• Simon Amor (England) - Men's Rugby 7s Coach (Rio 2016)
• Rowan Axe (Wales) – Men’s 1500m
• Elliott Dorey (Jersey) – Men’s 800m and 1500m
• Elliot Giles (England) – Men’s 800m (Rio 2016, London 2017)
• Charlie Grice (England) – Men’s 1500m (Rio 2016)
• Jade Lally (England) – Women’s Discus (Rio 2016, London 2017)
• Andrew Osagie (England) – Men’s 800m
• Paul Pollock (Northern Ireland) – Men’s Marathon (Rio 2016)
• Beth Potter (Scotland) – Women’s 10000m, Triathlon, and Team Triathlon (Rio 2016, London 2017)
• Joe Townsend (England) Para-Triathlon (Rio 2016)
• Adelle Tracey (England) – Women’s 800m (London 2017)
• Steph Twell (Scotland) – Women’s 1500m and 5000m (Rio 2016, London 2017)
• Andy Vernon (England) - Men's 10000m (Rio 2016)
• Lennie Waite (Scotland) – Women’s 3000m Steeplechase (Rio 2016, London 2017)
• Jake Wightman (Scotland) – Men’s 800m and 1500m (London 2017)