St Mary’s Athletes and Alumni Selected to Represent Britain at Inaugural European Championships

St Mary’s University, Twickenham has had 15 athletes and alumni selected to compete for Great Britain at the inaugural European Championships next month.

The new competition brings together a number of individual sports championships into one event and is split across Berlin, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with all athletics events taking place in the German capital.

St Mary’s will see 11 compete in Berlin with alumnus Elliot Giles and Endurance Performance and Coaching Centre (EPACC) athlete Steph Twell, who both competed at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, defending the Bronze medals they won at the 2016 European Championships in Amsterdam in the Men’s 800m and Woman’s 5000m respectively.

Bronze medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and EPACC athlete Jake Wightman will be hoping for similar success in the 1500m event, which alumnus Charlie Grice, who finished fourth behind Jake, is also taking part in.

Andy Vernon, who picked up a Silver and Bronze at the 2014 European Championships in Zurich, is running in the Men’s 10,000m alongside fellow EPACC athlete, and 2010 European Championships Silver medallist, Chris Thompson, who is also competing in the Men’s 5000m.

Daniel Rowden, who picked up Silver behind Elliot in the Men’s 800m at the British Athletics Championships earlier this month, will be participating alongside him again in the same race.

Medallists at the 2018 British Athletics Championships Adelle Tracey and Jade Lally will compete in the Women’s 800m and Women’s Discus events respectively, while Women’s Vitality Big Half London Marathon winner, and EPACC athlete, Charlotte Purdue will run in the Women’s Marathon alongside St Mary’s alumna Lily Partridge.

Karen Bennett, the official ambassador of the Glasgow branch of the championships, will be hoping to follow up her Gold at the 2016 European Rowing Championships and Silver in Rio with another medal in the Women’s Eights with fellow alumna Matilda Horn, while alumnus Moe Sbihi, who won Gold in Rio, is competing in the Men’s Eights.

Also competing in Glasgow is alumna Beth Potter, who is taking part in the Woman’s Triathlon after representing Great Britain and Scotland at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The Championships take place from 2^nd -12^th August and will be staged every four years.

Director of Sport at St Mary’s Andrew Reid-Smith, said, "This is the inaugural European Championships and it’s great that St Mary’s athletes have been selected in rowing, athletics and triathlon.  St Mary’s EPACC runners are well represented across the endurance events and it will be exciting watching them go for medals against the best in Europe."