Alumni of St Mary’s University, Twickenham, made up a majority of both Great Britain’s men’s and women’s teams at Europe’s biggest ever marathon.
The first European Road Running Championships, held in Belgium, saw over 28,000 participants of both elite athletes and amateur runners, and was launched by King Philippe of Belgium.
In the high-profile event, four out of five women and two out of four men representing Team GB were either St Mary’s alumni or current athletes training through the University’s Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) partnership
St Mary’s runners were at the heart of Team GB’s effort, competing against 5,500 10k participants. In the men’s 10km, St Mary’s alumnus Ellis Cross placed 12th, with Rory Leonard – a current TASS athlete based at St Mary’s - finishing close behind in 14th.
The women’s 10km team included four out of six athletes have with direct links to St Mary’s, where and saw:
- Beth Potter, a St Mary’s alum and Olympian, finished in 14th place.
- Pheobe Anderson, another TASS-supported runner, placed 31st.
- Amelia Quirk, training under the England Athletics Hub hosted at St Mary’s, was in 32nd.
- Sarah Astin, also an alum, who finished in 36th place.
Jen Fairfield, Sport Performance Manager at St Mary’s University, said ‘It is always a proud moment to see St Mary’s alumni achieving such great things out in the world. We continue to work with alumni and champion everything they do, setting the groundwork while they’re here to do so.’