St Mary’s University, Twickenham (SMU) has seen twelve former and current students and athletes selected to compete at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, with alumni Beth Potter and Aaron Grandidier bringing back three medals between them.
SMU and Endurance Performance Centre (EPC) alumna Beth Potter won two Bronze medals for Team GB in the Women’s Triathlon and Mixed Relay Triathlon events. Paris was Beth’s second Olympic Games, having competed in the women’s 10,000m at Rio 2016. Beth changed discipline to Triathlon following Rio, becoming World Champion at the World Triathlon Series in 2023.
Aaron Grandidier, alumnus and former rugby academy scholar at SMU, took the Gold medal in the Men’s Rugby 7s at the Games with France. The French side faced Fiji in the final, with Aaron scoring two tries to help secure a 26-14 win and the Gold medal.
Alum Emile Cairess became Team GB’s best Olympic marathon finisher in 20 years after placing fourth in the men’s race in Paris. Emile, an EPC alumnus, ran the marathon in a time of 2:07:29, just 29 seconds behind Kenya’s Benson Kipruto who took the Bronze medal. Earlier this year, Emile ran the second fastest British marathon time ever after fellow SMU alum and four-time Olympic Gold medal winner Sir Mo Farah.
The Paris Olympic Games also saw EPC alumni Revée Walcott-Nolan and Elliot Giles reach the semi-finals for Team GB in the Women’s 1500m and Men’s 800m races respectively. Elliot Giles was called up a week before the Men’s 800m events after SMU associate Jake Wightman had to pull out due to injury.
SMU and EPC alumna Adelle Tracey also competed in the Women’s 800m and 1500m events for Team Jamaica.
Three alumna and one current student at SMU competed for Team GB in the Women’s Rugby 7s tournament. Former student Emma Uren was named captain of the squad, with current master’s student Lauren Torley and alumnae Ellie Kildunne and Abi Burton joining her. The team reached the quarter finals and finished 7th overall.
St Mary’s will see alumna Corrine Hall compete at her third Paralympic Games later this month for ParalympicsGB. Corrine is a tandem pilot for Lora Fachie, with the pair already having won two Gold medals, a Silver, and a Bronze at the Rio and Tokyo Paralympics. Corrine will be competing in all four of the Women’s B Road and Track Cycling events in Paris.
SMU associate David Weir will also be competing in the Paris Paralympic Games. David regularly trains and undertakes testing at St Mary’s world class facilities. He has been selected for his seventh Paralympics for Team GB, having previously won four Gold medals at Beijing, and a further two Golds at the London Games.
St Mary’s has a history of success at recent Olympic and Paralympic Games. Athletes, alumni, and students from SMU have won a Gold medal at every Games since Beijing 2008. In total the University has seen 51 athletes take part in the last four Olympic and Paralympic Games, with some representing multiple events, winning 17 medals for their nations prior to Paris 2024.