St Mary’s Hosts Brown University Athletics Team

The Brown Bears, Brown University’s Track and Field Team enjoyed use of the Sir Mo Farah track as their team base ahead of the England U20 and U23 Championships on 17th and 18th June.

A member of the prestigious Ivy League, Brown is one of the world’s highest-ranking universities. As part of their tradition, the athletics team undertakes an overseas tour every four years.

Having previously based themselves at Oxford and Cambridge, the team chose to stay with St Mary’s after being impressed by the University during their last tour. One of the highlights of this visit was an athletics meet between St Mary’s, Brown and Ivy League colleagues Dartmouth College.

During their stay at St Mary’s, Brown will have access to the University’s world-class sports facilities, which have also recently hosted three teams during Rugby World Cup 2015, including tournament winners New Zealand, and ten teams during the London 2012 Olympics.

Brown University’s Director of Track & Field and Cross Country said, “Following the very successful St Mary’s v Dartmouth & Brown athletics meet in 2013 they were impressed with the sports facilities and the first-class service they received; St Mary’s provided an excellent experience.  This cemented the positive relationship with St Mary’s and as such Brown selected St Mary’s as their training venue ahead of the competition this weekend.”

Speaking of their visit Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, “It’s always a pleasure to welcome Brown University and other visiting athletes to St Mary’s. St Mary’s outstanding athletics facilities and our own high performance endurance programme help attract international squads, providing a unique and exciting experience for our own student athletes.”