Record Breaking Week for St Mary’s Alumni

Two alumni of St Mary’s University, Twickenham have broken British Athletics records whilst taking part in competitions around the world.

Graduate of Physical and Sport Education at St Mary’s Elliot Giles broke the British men’s indoor 800m record at a World Indoor Tour race in Torun, Poland. Elliot. Elliot covered the 800m in a time of 1:43.63, beating the previous British record of 1:44.91 set by Lord Coe in 1983.

The new record set by Elliot is just over a second behind the world record of 1:42.67, set in 1997 by Wilson Kipketer. Elliot competed at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the

London 2017 and Doha 2019 World Championships and won a Bronze Medal in the Men’s 800m at the 2016 European Championships.

Charlie Grice, graduate of Sport Science at St Mary’s, set a new British men’s indoor record across 1000m. Competing in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in New York, Charlie set a new British record with a time of 2:17.20.

The previous record was held by St Mary’s Endurance Performance Centre alumnus Jake Wightman, who set a time of 2:17.51 in January 2020. Charlie reached the finals of the Men’s 1500m at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the 2015 World Athletics Championship in Beijing.

Elliot and Charlie are both alumni of the St Mary’s Endurance Performance Centre (EPC). Established in 2001, the EPC provides an endurance performance environment that supports, challenges and develops elite runners, inspires beginners, fosters and tests talent and promotes excellence in the coaches who work with them. Alumni and current athletes of the centre include Sir Mo Farah, Charlotte Purdue, Adelle Tracy, Steph Twell, Beth Potter and Andrew Osagie, amongst many others.

St Mary’s Performance Coach Craig Winrow said, “It was great to watch former students Charlie Grice and Elliot Giles break the British records this week. All of St Mary's Endurance Performance Centre are delighted that we have been part of their journey to becoming world class athletes. We wish them all the best for this Olympic year.”