Athletes, students, coaches and graduates at the University of Bath are excitedly counting down to Rio 2016, with the Olympic Games now just a year away.
Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European medallists are among the many athletes from a wide range of sports aspiring to be Brazil-bound in 12 months’ time.
Bringing home just how close the Games are is the fact that the University of Bath is staging a Rio qualifying event later this month – the Modern Pentathlon European Championships.
Eight qualifying places per gender will be up for grabs at the eagerly-awaited event, which runs at the Sports Training Village from August 18-23 and will feature more than 100 of the world’s top all-round athletes.
Among them will be eight Pentathlon GB athletes, all of whom train at the University of Bath – the home of the sport’s National Performance Centre.
Many of them also combine training with studying at the University, including Samantha Murray who was a French & Politics student when she so memorably won a silver medal at London 2012 – Team GB’s 65th and last of the Games.
She went on to be crowned as World Champion in 2014 and has already set the qualification standard for Rio thanks to her top-five finish at this year’s World Championships.
“The Sports Training Village at the University of Bath is a world-class facility and I’m sure it will deliver an outstanding modern pentathlon competition for Europe’s best pentathletes,” said Murray, one of 25 University of Bath-based athletes who competed at London 2012.
“I am not worrying too much about winning or thinking about Rio. It will just be a case of trying to get everything right on the day at the Europeans.”
Sports Performance graduate Kate French broke into the senior team just a month before London 2012 but has established herself as a consistent international performer since.
“Having never competed in a major competition on home soil, the European Championships in Bath will be a new and exciting experience for me,” she said.
“Spending so much time training in Bath, it would be amazing to have the opportunity to gain an Olympic qualification place here.”
Among the current University of Bath students hoping to make the Olympics are Tom Toolis and Joe Choong, both of whom are in the men’s squad for the European Championships.
“This year my performance has really come along,” said Sports & Exercise Science student Toolis. “I’ve developed loads and I got to the World Cup Final which wasn’t even part of the plan at the beginning of the year.
“The fact I’ve done that has really boosted my confidence and makes me feel ready for the year ahead.”
The largest contingent of University of Bath-based athletes heading to Rio is likely to come from the British Swimming National Centre.
Four swimmers went to London 2012, including Sports Performance graduate Michael Jamieson who famously won 200m breaststroke silver on an unforgettable night in the Aquatics Centre.
In the three years since, more and more of Britain’s best swimmers have moved to the inspirational world-class surroundings of the newly-refurbished £1.6million London 2012 Legacy Pool.
And Jamieson believes the current squad – coached by Dave McNulty and Graeme Antwhistle – could produce something truly memorable in Brazil 12 months from now.
“This team is on the brink of doing something pretty special at the Olympic Games in Rio next year,” he said.
“We are undoubtedly the strongest team in the UK, if not the strongest in the world. You would really struggle to find another programme with the kind of strength in depth we have.
“There are six or seven swimmers here who are ranked in the top eight in the world. In a sport like swimming, where it really is a global sport, it says a lot about the kind of programme we have.”
Jamieson is also confident he will be back to his best in time for Rio after missing out on a place at this year’s World Championships, currently taking place in Kazan, Russia.
“I’ve been back in full training now for the past few weeks and I’m in great shape. I had a couple of really encouraging results in Europe recently and I’ll racing at the US Nationals this week.
“If I can post a time at that meet which would have put me in the final, and hopefully on the podium, at the World Championships then I’ll be right where I want to be in the lead up to Olympic year.”
Hurdlers Eilidh Child and Lawrence Clarke are among the many track and field athletes training at the University of Bath who harbour strong Rio ambitions.
Both competed at London 2012, with Clarke finishing just outside the medals in the 110m hurdles, but feel they will be coming into their best form next August.
“London 2012 was a bit too early for me but hopefully I can really put my stamp on Rio,” said Child, the European 400m hurdles champion who is coached by Malcolm Arnold.
“The last couple of years have gone really well for me and I feel I am coming to the peak of my career.
“Rio is always on the back of your mind and it seems to be coming around so quickly. Obviously I am focusing on the World Championships but you are always thinking of being ready for next year. Qualification has already started so the first thing is to tick that box.”
Clarke – who, like training partner Child, has been selected for this month’s World Championships in Beijing, China – is excited about his prospects for 2016.
“The peak age for a hurdler is usually 26 and it is amazing to think I will turning 26 during an Olympic year,” said Clarke, who has just completed a Masters degree in Management at the University of Bath.
“I can remember standing here on the Team Bath athletics track, doing an interview to mark 1,000 days until London 2012, and thinking that felt a long way away. Now it is only a year until Rio.”
You can follow University of Bath-based athletes on the road to Rio at http://www.teambath.com/sport/olympic-paralympic/rio-2016/.
