Four Athletes from St Mary's Compete at the Paralympics

Four athletes from St Mary’s University, Twickenham will be competing at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games beginning this evening, 7^th September. Second year Strength and Conditioning student Joe Townsend will be competing in the Men’s Paratriathlon. Joe, previously a Royal Marine, will undertake a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and a marathon as part of the Paratrialthon. During the London 2012 Paralympics, Joe played a big role in the opening ceremony as he flew into the stadium on a zip wire. Recent Sport Science graduate Toby Gold will be competing in the Men’s T33 100m Wheelchair racing. Toby is going into the Games in strong form as the current European Champion and Record Holder in his event. David Weir, who has trained at St Mary’s world-class facilities for the past seven years, will also be competing at the Games in five events. Having won four Gold medals at London 2012, David will hope to continue his winning streak as he competes in the T54 400m, 1500m, 800m, 4x400m relay track events. He will then be finishing Rio 2016 by taking part in the Marathon on Sunday 18^th September. Alumna Corrine Hall meanwhile, will be piloting Lora Turnham in the 3km track pursuit, 30km road time trial and 90km road race, at the Rio Paralympic Games. St Mary’s has already seen great success at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, with 18 athletes competing, winning three Gold Medals, two Silver Medals, and one Bronze Medal. The Performance of Team St Mary’s would have ranked the University 25^th on the medal table if it were a nation. St Mary’s has a proud history of Olympic and Paralympic success. As part of St Mary’s contribution to the London Games the University supported athletes from ten different nations and provided Pre Games Training Camps for China, South Africa, Japan and Ireland. Based on London 2012 medals won St Mary’s finished sixth, the highest placed London institution, in Podium’s league table for universities. Lord Coe, the chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and President of the IAAF, opened St Mary’s latest sports facilities. International athletes competing at the Games used these facilities, which continue to provide a sporting legacy for students, staff and local community alike.