a picture of athletes

Image credit: Ben Lumley photography.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ welcomes elite level athletes back to campus

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is gradually opening up some of its on-site sports facilities to enable elite level athletes to train.

The University is working closely with its campus partners - British Athletics, British Weightlifting, British Swimming, British Triathlon, England Netball, LTA, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and the English Institute of Sport (EIS) - to ensure athletes, coaches and support staff can begin to access facilities and resume training in a safe way, with strict social distancing guidelines in place.

John Steele, Executive Director of Sport, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, said:

“It goes without saying that this period of uncertainty has been tough on everyone including athletes, in what was supposed to be an Olympic and Paralympic year. In returning to training, our primary concern is that we provide a safe environment for athletes, coaches and support staff so that they can focus on optimising their training to ultimately be ready for the next major competition – whenever that may be.

“Sport and people in sport, have had to show resilience in many different scenarios in the past, and this is now another situation where we will need to be patient and adaptable as we navigate our way back to competition.” 

Steve Paulding, British Athletics World Class Programme Director, said:

“We have been working hard to develop systems and processes to ensure the government guidelines on elite athletes returning to training are being met. Over the past three weeks, working closely with º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ in their role as part of UK Sport’s Elite Training Centre Network, we are now in a position where more than 50 eligible athletes are able to book carefully managed sessions to train.”

Throughout the lockdown period, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ has taken a closer look at how some of its athletes have adapted their training schedules through its #TrainatHome campaign.

Including pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw’s ‘tin of beans’ regime, England rugby’s Emily Scarratt using farm hay bales for squat racks, and 400m hurdler Meghan Beesley’s new canine training partner,  the athlete videos can be viewed in full by clicking HERE

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 20/96

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º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2019 QS World University Rankings, University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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