Team St Mary's Updates - Week 5th-12th August

Strong Perfromances from Beth Potter and Jo Pavey 4pm Friday 12th August Alumna of St Mary's Beth Potter and EPACC Athlete Jo Pavey both competed in the Women's 10000m competition. In an event that saw the World Record broken by over 14 seconds, both athletes put in strong performances with Jo finishing in 15th and Beth finishing 34th in her debut Olympics. Gold for Moe Sbihi 3.40pm Friday 12th August Alumnus of St Mary’s University, Twickenham Moe Sbihi has won a Gold Medal rowing in the Men’s Four at Rio 2016. Having won both their heat and semi-finals with comfortable margins, the crew completed the 2km course in a time of 5:58.61, ahead of second place Australia by almost a length. His victory comes after an already successful start to the rowing season with as the Men’s Four we’re crowned European champions in May, hosted in Germany. Elliot Giles Competes in 800m Heats 2.25pm Friday 12th August St Mary's student Elliot Giles put in a commendable performance in his debut Olympics. The British Champion and European Bronze Medalist in the Men's 800m ran in a time of 1:47.88, placing him 29th in heats. Simon Amor’s Rugby 7s Win Silver 11.30pm Thursday 11th August Alumnus of St Mary’s Simon Amor’s Men’s Rugby 7s squad won the silver medal in the inaugural Olympic competition. Earlier in the day the squad scored a close victory over eventual Bronze Medallists South Africa before facing Fiji in the final. Simon Amor’s team put in a strong performance but we’re overwhelmed by the strength and pace of the Fijian team, finishing with a well-deserved Silver Medal. Joshua Buatsi Through to Quarterfinals 7pm Thursday 11th August Team GB Boxer and St Mary’s Student Joshua Buatsi is through to the quarterfinals of the Men’s Light-Heavyweight Boxing. Joshua defeated the third seed Elshod Rasulov, Uzbekistan. Joshua will next compete on Sunday 14^th August at 11.45pm. Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, “Joshua produced an incredible performance to KO third seed Elshod Rasulov and earn his place in the quarter-finals.  Rasulov, a three-time World medallist couldn't stand up to Joshua's work-rate and power and was knocked down three times before the referee ended the contest.” St Mary’s Alumnus Reaches Olympics Rowing Finals 2pm Thursday 11th August Alumnus of St Mary’s University, Twickenham Moe Sbihi has reached the finals of the Men’s Four rowing competition at Rio 2016. As part of the Men’s Four crew, Moe cruised to victory comfortably in the heats and semi-finals and will now face Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Italy, South Africa at 3.20pm on Friday 12^th August. Semi-Finals for Simon Amor's Men's Rugby 7s Squad 8am Thursday 11th August The Team GB Rugby 7s squad coached by St Mary’s alumnus Simon Amor have reached the semi-finals of Rio 2016. The squad won all of their games in the group and defeated Argentina in a close match in the quarter-finals. The squad will now face South Africa in the semi-final at 7pm on Thursday 11^th August, and Fiji or Japan in the Gold (11pm) or Bronze (10.30pm) Medal matches. Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, “The GB men's sevens produced some pacy and skillful performances to go through as pool leaders having beaten Kenya, Japan and New Zealand.  The quarter-final against Argentina was a wonderful game with GB maintaining their nerve to gain the crucial winner in the first sudden death period.” Top Four Finish for Alice Richardson – 11pm Monday 8th August St Mary’s Alumna Alice Richardson achieved a top four finish with the Team GB Rugby 7s Squad. This year saw the inaugural Olympic Rugby 7s tournament and the team performed fantastically throughout, with Alice playing a key role in the squad. St Mary’s will also see representation in the Men’s tournament as Alumnus Simon Amor is the team Coach, the team will play on Tuesday 9^th August at 4pm and 9pm. Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, "Alice continued her good scoring form to touch down for the fourth successive game, but the team were unable to maintain their winning run in their semi-final against New Zealand.  The bronze medal match saw Canada play a very physical game to beat GB 33-10. Despite not gaining the result they would have wanted the GB squad can reflect on the significant contribution they made to this inaugural Olympic sevens tournament." Comfortable Victory for Moe Sbihi – 6pm Monday 8th August St Mary's Alumnus Moe Sbihi saw a comfortable victory in his heat of the Men’s Four. The crew achieved the second fastest time in the Heats at 5:55.59, .75 behind Australia. The crew will now compete in the semi-finals on Wednesday 10^th August at 1.30pm. Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, "The GB men's four went in the last race of the day and produced a powerful and clinical performance. They set a formidable pace that saw them extend a big lead and win by five lengths to cruise into the Olympic semi-finals." Karen Bennett Qualifies for Rowing Final – 1.30pm Monday 8^th August St Mary’s Alumna Karen Bennett has qualified for the final of the women’s eight. The crew completed the course in a time of 6:09.52, winning their heat and achieving the second fastest time of the heats behind the United States. She will next row in the final at 3pm on Saturday 13^th August. Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said "The GB women's eight did an outstanding job in the heat, they timed their race to perfection to row through Canada and New Zealand in the last 500m.  This means that they qualify direct to Sunday's final making them the first GB women's eight in Olympic history to go through directly from the heat to the A final." Women’s Rugby 7s Reach Semi-Final – Sunday 7^th August The Women’s Rugby 7s team have reached the semi-finals, with St Mary’s alumna Alice Richardson playing a key role. The team finished at the top of their group, winning all of their matches, before defeating Fiji 26-7 in the quarter-finals. They now face New Zealand at 7pm on Monday 8^th August, and will face either Australia or Canada in the Bronze or Gold Medal match at 10.30pm or 11pm respectively. Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, “The GB women's sevens qualified for their quarter-final by remaining unbeaten in their pool matches which included a win against Canada who are ranked third for the Olympic title. Alice got onto the scoresheet in three of the games and the team's performances improved match on match. They will go into their semi against New Zealand confident they can perform well and win.” Joshua Buatsi Through to the Last 16 – Sunday 7^th August Current student Joshua Buatsi has reached the round of 16 in the light-heavyweight boxing. Joshua achieved the first technical knockout of the competition in his match and will next compete at 5.30pm on Thursday 11^th August. Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, “Joshua was in confident and dominant form for his Olympic debut. His opponent Kennedy Katende from Uganda is a two time Olympian but Joshua was straight into his rhythm and his work was much the cleaner. After winning the first two rounds in the third round he gained a technical knockout to progress to the last 16.” Leonora MacKinnon Reaches Round of 32 in Debut – Saturday 6^th August Student at St Mary’s and Team Canada Fencer Leonora MacKinnon reached the Round of 32 in her debut at the Olympics. Speaking of her Performance, Andrew Reid-Smith said, “Leonora marked her Olympic debut with a 15 - 10 first round win against Simona Deac, the Bronze European medalist from Romania. She had a tough round of 32 draw losing 15 - 8 to Rossella Fiamingo, two-time World Champion, who progressed through the rounds to take the Olympic Silver medal.”