Two alumnae from St Mary’s University, Twickenham have been selected to compete for Team GB at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
History graduate Charlotte Purdue will be competing in the Marathon, while former PGCE student Beth Potter will be competing in the Triathlon. Both Charlotte and Beth are also alumnae from the Endurance and Performance Centre (EPC) at St Mary’s University.
Charlotte will be making her Olympic debut in Paris this year, after qualifying at the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:22:17 last September. Charlotte previously ran the marathon at the Doha 2019 World Championships, after training in world-class sports labs at St Mary’s University to prepare for the heat.
Beth is the current World Triathlon Championship Series leader, but previously competed in the 10,000m track event at the Rio 2016 Olympics for Team GB. Beth secured her place at the Paris Olympics in triathlon after taking the World Championship title in Spain last year with a time of 1:53:19.
Head of Sport at St Mary’s University Andrew Reid-Smith said, “It is incredible that Beth has been able to successfully change from an international track athlete to a World Champion in triathlon, and Charlotte’s selection comes off the back of running what was the second quickest marathon ever by a GB athlete.
“We are very proud of Charlotte and Beth; they have dedicated themselves to their sports and are world-class athletes who consistently produce brave performances - I’m sure we’ll see more of the same in Paris.”
These selections continue a proud history for St Mary’s at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with many former students having competed over the years. St Mary’s alumni who have gone on to win medals at the Olympic and Paralympic Games include Sir Mo Farah, Rebecca Romero, Moe Sbihi, Dave Weir, Matt Wells, and Corrine Hall.