This month saw a new record set as Great Britain produced a fine display at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich to win an unprecedented 23 medals and top the medal table. Much of the home success was driven by some especially strong performances given by a cast of young track & field talents. One sprinter to deliver just such a performance was Dina Asher-Smith, who on Thursday 14th August not only qualified for the Women’s 200m final, but also discovered that she had been accepted to King’s to read History following the release of A-level results earlier that day.
Elated, Dina, had already made a strong start in what was her first individual Senior athletics event having come through her 200m qualifying heat in 1st place. At only 18, but already boasting 200m and 100m Junior World titles, and a 4x100m relay bronze medal from last year’s 2013 World Athletics Championships, Dina is hotly tipped as one of Great Britain’s emerging athletics talents and the Thursday was set to get even better when the South-London athlete learnt via text that she had achieved the grades required to start at King’s later this year.
The day’s successes were capped off in the evening by a blistering semi-final run of 22.61s; a time that was not only the third fastest of the day but which also broke the junior 200m national record in the process.
Disappointingly a hamstring injury was to prevent Dina finishing in the final the following day, and whilst arguably depriving of the chance to contest for a medal there seems little doubt that the expectations had been exceeded a day earlier, on a Thursday which the bright and talented athlete summarised succinctly:
“Junior record, I got into King’s, I made the final, I just really couldn’t have asked for much more out of this day”
Rowing:
One current King’s student and one former student feature in the Great Britain rowing team that will travel to Amsterdam to compete in this week’s Rowing World Championships, held from 24th-31st August 2014.
In the women's squad, Geography PhD student Zoë Lee is selected as part of a group of 9 athletes (9 rowers + cox) who make up the GB Women's Eight boat for the championship event that is second only to the Olympics in importance.A former Oxford Blue, Zoë's selection continues her involvement with the Women's Eight crew, where she has featured throughout the international racing season in 2014, picking up silver and bronze medals along the way at Rowing World Cup regattas and winning the Remenham Challenge Cup at last month’s internationally renowned Henley Royal Regatta.
Zoë is joined in the men's World Championship squad by King’s alumnus Paul Bennett. Standing at an impressive 6 ft 10 inches, Paul graduated from King's in 2012 having rowed for the University of London Boat Club during his studies. Going on to complete an MSc in Computer Science at Oxford University where he rowed for Oxford in the 2013 Boat Race, Paul has now forced his way into the GB Men's Eight crew which features a number of medallists from the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The Great Britain Men’s Eight were in action on Monday 25th August 2014 for their 1st round heat. With only the 1st place finishing crew given automatic progression through to the final, the Great Britain boat entered into a tough fight against the Olympic Champions Germany in order to guarantee the safety of a top-spot finish. Trailing off the start the British crew worked hard to close the gap throughout the race but weren’t able to overhaul the Germans by the finish line. As a result Paul and his crewmates will now aim to reach the final via a repecharge round, but with the knowledge that their first heat performance and time can be built upon to challenge further in the later rounds.
Triathlon:
King’s Triathletes are enjoying a successful summer in 2014 with high place finishes in June’s prestigious Windsor Triathlon and most recently on the national stage at the British Triathlon Championships, held around the Merseyside docks in Liverpool on Sunday 10th August. Here, despite dismal weather conditions created by the arrival of ex-Hurricane Bertha, two King’s students competing for King’s Triathlon Club raced toward the top of the leader boards.
Rob O’loughlin was highly competitive in the Men’s 20-24 year-old category, placing 15th by the finish of the 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10 km run event and setting himself up for a trip to the ITU (International Triathlon Union)World Triathlon Grand Final which takes place over this week in Edmonton, Canada.
The highest result of the day however belonged to medical student Katherine de Rome, who racing in the corresponding female category showed her impressive form to win in a time of 2 hours 19 minutes and 27 seconds.
This British Championship result comes only 3 years after Katherine took up the sport in 2011 upon arrival at King’s, having previously been a swimmer up to national level. Since then she has enjoyed a remarkable rise through the ranks of the sport to the point where only 2 years after beginning she was on the start-line of the ITU 2013 World Triathlon Grand Final, held on the London 2012 Olympic triathlon course in Hyde Park, ultimately finishing 11th in 20-24 year old category.
Supported in 2013/14 by the King’s Sport Elites programme, Katherine is now turning her attention to longer distance events with an Ironman 70.3 – or Half Ironman – competition planned for later in the year.
Congratulations to both Katherine and Rob and also to Dina (who we look forward to welcoming shortly) on their excellent championships, and we wish good luck to Rob, Paul and Zoe this week competing in Edmonton and Amsterdam!