St Mary’s Student Wins Gold at Commonwealth Games

Strength and Conditioning Science student at St Mary’s University, Twickenham and Paralympian Joe Townsend won the Gold Medal in the Men’s Paratriathlon at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Hosted in Gold Coast, Australia, these are the first Commonwealth Games to feature the Paratriathlon. Joe completed the 750m swim, 20km hand bike and 5km wheelchair race in a time of 01:02:39, 49 seconds ahead of second place.

Joe, a former Royal Marine commando, lost both of his legs in Afghanistan. He previously competed at Rio 2016 in the Paratriathlon and carried the Paralympic flame into the London 2012 Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony.

He is part a record team of 15 athletes and alumni from St Mary’s who a representing a range of countries and competing in a range of sports and athletics disciplines at the game up on the 13 who attended Glasgow and nine at Delhi.

Speaking of Joe’s success, Programme Director for Strength and Conditioning Science Phil Price said, “All of us on the programme are delighted with Joe’s success, he is a big inspiration for his fellow students and I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to celebrating his success with him when he returns to St Mary’s.”

Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith added, “Joe produced a wonderful performance to chase down and beat a world-class field. He’s proved himself to be one of the best Paratriathletes in the world and everyone at St Mary’s is absolutely delighted for him.”