Athletics
Friday saw the eagerly anticipated athletics programme begin in Paris with º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ well represented across the board.
Alex Haydock-Wilson, a current º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ PhD student, hugely impressed in the Mixed 4x400m Relay heats as his GB team recorded a national record (3:10.61) to qualify for the final.
Alumnus Chris O’Donnell had a strong first leg for Ireland in the same race but unfortunately missed out on qualification.
In the morning session, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ College learner Daryl Neita looked in solid form as she secured a place in the Women's 100m Semi-Finals with a season-best time of 10:92
Italy international and alumnus Ossama Meslek clocked a heat time of 3:39.96 in the Men’s 1500m. Not quite quick enough to automatically advance, he’ll now have another chance to qualify in the repechage round.
Morgan Lake sadly failed to make it through to Sunday’s High Jump Final after three unsuccessful attempts at 1.92m. The University alumna recorded 1.88m in her qualification pool, shy of the required height.
Swimming
º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ student Honey Osrin finished a respectable 7th in the Women's 200m Backstroke Final, hitting the wall in 2:08.16.
In a tough event dominated by Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, the South African-born swimmer stayed with the pack in a performance to be proud of.
Elsewhere, following her outstanding silver last night, Paige Madden’s fine games continued after she went second quickest in the Women’s 800m Freestyle Semi-Final. The USA international will take another shot at the medals tomorrow evening (2 August, 8:28pm, live on Discovery+).
In the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay heats, alumni Joe Litchfield and James Wilby combined with º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ-based Anna Hopkin to qualify for tomorrow’s final fifth-fastest (8:58pm, live on BBC One and Discovery+).
They may well be up against France’s Marie Wattel as the º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ alumna played her role in the heats to ensure the host nation will also be battling for silverware.
In the evening session, Alumna Abbie Wood produced a fine swim to confirm her place in tomorrow’s Women's 200m Individual Medley Final (8:08pm) after qualifying 4th overall in 2:09.64.
In the same event, current student Freya Colbert narrowly missed out on qualification in the heats.
Hockey
Both Great Britain Men and Ireland Men played their final Pool matches in Paris ahead of the knockout stages.
GB – with their quarter-final place already confirmed – fell to a 2-1 defeat to top of the table Germany. Sadly, it appears to be the end of the road for º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ College alumnus Nick Park who picked up a games-ending injury before the match.
Ireland Men, including alumni Nick Page and Matthew Nelson, registered their first win of the Paris campaign after defeating New Zealand, 2-1.
It’s now been confirmed that Great Britain Men will play India in the quarter-finals on August 4 (start time TBC).