Team St Mary’s at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

12 students, athletes, alumni and friends of St Mary’s University, Twickenham have been selected to represent their countries at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, starting on 23^rd July in Japan.

In the Athletics, St Mary’s Endurance Performance Centre (EPC) athletes are selected for the fifth successive Games, with five athletes competing. In the women’s marathon, two-time Olympian alumna Steph Twell will compete in the furthest distance of her Olympic career, having previously represented Team GB at 1500m and 5000m. She will be joined in the endurance events by Rio 2016 Olympian and alumna Anna Møller who will represent the Danish Team in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase.

In the 1500m races, Endurance Performance Centre (EPC) alumna Revee Walcott Nolan and EPC Associate Jake Wightman will both make their Olympic debuts for Team GB. Elsewhere in the Men’s 800m, Rio 2016 Olympian and alumnus Elliot Giles will be racing for Team GB having broken the British 800m indoor record earlier in the year.

Three St Mary’s alumni will be competing in the rowing in a range of boats. London 2012 Bronze Medallist and Rio 2016 Gold Medallist, Moe Sbihi MBE will be the Team GB flag bearer in the opening ceremony and will be competing in the Men’s Eight. He is joined in the Rowing squads by Rio 2016 Silver Medallist Karen Bennett, who be competing in the Women’s Four, and Matilda Horn will be making her Olympic Debut as the cox of the Women’s Eight. Matilda, who graduated from Sports Rehab in 2015, recently spoke to St Mary’s about her experience preparing for the Games and her time at St Mary’s.

In the Rugby Sevens, Alumna Emma Uren and current student Abi Burton will be making their Olympic debuts. Outside of international duty, Emma plays for Saracens and Abi plays for Wasps.

Following the Olympic Games, Rio 2016 Paralympic Bronze and Gold Medallist Alumna Corrine Hall MBE has been selected to compete in the Paralympic Cycling events as pilot for Lora Fachie MBE in the Tamden B classification. Friend of St Mary’s David Weir, who has trained and undertaken testing at the university for several years, has been selected to represent Team GB in the Men’s T54 1500m and 5000m and marathon. This will be David’s fifth consecutive Paralympic games, having won ten medals.

Speaking of the selections, Head of Sport at St Mary’s Andrew Reid-Smith said, “Huge congratulations to all the athletes for being selected for Tokyo. St Mary’s is fortunate to have a rich Olympic and Paralympic history, from hosting international squads to athletes winning medals. Watching our athletes perform over the years has provided wonderful and inspirational moments for students, staff and our local community, and we can’t wait to see what these Games will bring.”