james wilby

James Wilby with his Gold Medal during the Medal Ceremony. Image provided by PA/Alamy.

More medals for º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ on an unforgettable night in Birmingham

  • Alumnus James Wilby wins incredible Men’s 100m breaststroke gold
  • Current student Sophie Capewell wins bronze in Women’s 500m time trial
  • Alumna Abbie Wood wins bronze in the Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ athletes James Wilby, Sophie Capewell, and Abbie Wood all medalled on an unforgettable night at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Alumnus James Wilby produced one of the all-time great championship swims to win a stunning gold in the 100m breaststroke final.

The Chemistry graduate, 28, powered through to take the title in 59.25 and in turn claim his second medal of the week following his 200m breaststroke silver.

On a night of high drama, Fellow º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ swimmer Adam Peaty finished in 4th position.

In cycling, current student Sophie Capewell dug deep to win a brilliant bronze medal in the Women’s 500m time trial.  Capewell showed incredible resilience to overcome the disappointment of missing out on the podium yesterday to take a maiden Commonwealth medal.

Back in the pool, Alumna Abbie Wood won her third medal of the Games after her exceptional third leg in the Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay flipped the race in Team England’s favour as the home nation won bronze.

sophie capewell

Sophie Capewell with her Bronze Medal. Picture provided by PA/Alamy.

Following his gold medal win, James Wilby said: “I love racing and racing alongside Peaty is always so much fun. I was able to execute my race the best I could.

“We’re both great racers, we all know what Adam is capable of, we’ll both be back to race each other again and it’s always going to be an exciting one. That one was really fun.

“It’s about taking your opportunities and I’m so thrilled with that. There’s more to come, there’s always more races and I’m really looking forward to them.”

Sophie Capewell also spoke about her bronze in women’s 500m time trial: “It has been a long time since I’ve done a 500m in competition, the last time I did it I was nearly a second slower. But training has been going well and this means a lot.

“I’ve got some good form, I’m just lacking a bit of repeatability. It has been frustrating as I know what I need to do, I just need my legs to keep up with me. I knew if I had one big hit today I could see something good and I’m really proud of what I just did.”

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ has now won 11 medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games – four gold, four silver, and two bronze medals.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ’s dedicated 2022 Commonwealth Games website features all the latest news, videos, and medal tables from Birmingham.

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 22/150

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 2022 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2022.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2022, and 10th in both the Guardian University League Table 2022 and the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.

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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