Paralympic Success for Team St Mary's

Students, alumni, and athletes from St Mary’s University, Twickenham, have seen an extremely successful Paralympic Games, securing three medals and competing in ten events. Alumna Corrine Hall secured a Gold Medal and a Bronze Medal competing as a pilot for Lora Turnham in the Tandem Cycling. The duo claimed their Gold Medal in the 3000m Individual Pursuit B, in a time of 3:28.05, three seconds ahead of second place New Zealand. Their Bronze Medal came in the 30km Time Trial B. Having completed the course in 39:33.81, they missed the Silver Medal by just over a second. European Champion T33 Wheelchair Racer and recent Sport Science graduate Toby Gold won the Silver Medal in the Men’s 100m Sprint. Toby completed the race in a time of 17.84, a second behind Ahmad Almutairi who set a new Paralympic Record of 16.61. Second year Strength and Conditioning Science student Joe Townsend competed in the men’s PT1 Paratriathlon. Joe finished in sixth place in a time of 1:04.43, in what was his debut Paralympics and the inaugural Paratriathlon competition. Six-time Paralympic Champion David Weir also competed in five events in Rio 2016. Despite not winning a medal David put in a series a strong performances and can now look ahead to next year’s London Marathon where he will be competing for a record seventh title. Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said of their success "The magnificent performances of the GB Paralympians has seen them finish second in the medal table exceeding the number of medals won in London and gaining more medals than any British team since 1988. This shows the talent and dedication of all the athletes and their teams. St Mary's athletes have made a significant contribution, we join the country in welcoming them home and we are very proud of what they've achieved."