Bronze in Boxing for St Mary's Student Buatsi

Student at St Mary’s University, Twickenham Joshua Buatsi has finished his first Olympic Games with a fantastic Bronze Medal in the Men’s Light-Heavyweight Boxing. In a tight final, Joshua just missed out on a place in the final by one point as London 2012 Silver Medallist Adilbek Niyazymbetov won 29-28 across the three rounds. His path to the final saw Joshua score the first Technical Knockout of the Games and defeat the third seed by Knockout in his second round, before scoring a points victory against Algerian boxer Abdelhafic Benchabla, currently ranked fourth in the world. Joshua, who’s Bronze Medal saw Team GB secure its medal target of 48, with four days of competition to go, joins four other medallists from St Mary’s. Mo Farah, 10,000m, and rower Moe Sbihi, Men’s Four, have both secured Gold Medals, while rower Karen Bennett won a Silver Medal in the Women’s Eight and Simon Amor coached the Men’s Rugby 7 squad to the Silver Medal. Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, “For Joshua to come away from his first Olympics with a bronze medal is an absolutely incredible result. He was unseeded for the tournament but his sensational performances have seen him beat higher ranked opponents and ultimately he lost on points to the second seed. His performances have been full of skill and power and he's carried himself brilliantly throughout. Everyone at St Mary's is very proud of Joshua and what he's achieved, he has a bright future ahead.” St Mary’s has a proud history of Olympic and Paralympic success. The University’s sporting alumni include Mo Farah, the Rio 2016 Gold Medallist and London 2012 double gold medallist and GB’s best ever distance runner, Rebecca Romero, an Olympic medallist in two different sports rowing and cycling making her one of GB’s greatest ever Olympians. Moe Sbihi, Rio 2016 Gold Medallist and London 2012 Bronze Medallist and World Champion Rower is almost amongst our alumni while Dave Weir, winner of four gold medals at the London Paralympics, trains at St Mary’s using the world-class facilities and support services. 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.