BUCS Nationals and English Cross-Country Championships results

BUCS Nationals success

Over 30 students made up the team representing King’s College London at the BUCS Nationals held in Sheffield over 20-22th February. 

The weekend event which is the UK’s largest annual multi-sport competition saw King’s enter students across a number of the national university finals including athletics, badminton, swimming and karate, collecting two podiums in the process.

At the Karate Championships, held at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre there was a gold medal for Chris Karwacinski in the Senior Kata – an event which comprises an individual routine of moves and forms. 

The result was the second time that the mathematics student had visited the podium at the BUCS Nationals, having finished just short of the top step in second place in the same event last year.

The first place headlined a recognisable King’s College London presence in the dojo during the Karate Championships with eight members of KCL Karate competing across individual and team categories ranging from novice to senior.

There was considerable success too on the other side of town at the English Institute of Sport (EIS), the venue for both the badminton and indoor athletics championships. KCL Badminton began their championships on the Friday, with 16 students having made the journey up to EIS. Competitive fields over 8 rounds meant that the team were unable to progress beyond the 4th round. 

KCL Badminton in action at BUCS Nationals

On the indoor athletics track adjacent however, momentum was building for Laviai Nielsen in the women’s 400m, as the geography student qualified through Saturday’s heats to Sunday’s semi-finals and finals.

For the first-year sprinter, a King’s Sport Elite scholarship athlete, the BUCS Indoor Athletics Championships had been earmarked as a highlight event in the calendar for some time and come the day it was a performance delivered as Laviai first graduated from the semi-final second fastest to the final. In the final itself, Laviai produced a blistering/inspired personal best pushing three-time BUCS champion Amy Allcock (Loughborough) all the way to the line to claim second.

Laviai Nielsen (left) chases Loughborough's Amy Allcock in the Women's 400m final at BUCS Nationals

Absolutely delighted upon finding out the news of a personal best, the silver-medal time of 53.57s is the fastest Under-20 time to be clocked in the one-lap distance since 1970, and second of all-time.

It bodes well for Laviai’s last scheduled indoor appearance which will take place on the same track for the National Indoor U-20 Championships at the end of the week (28th February – 1st March).

King's Elite places 4th fastest nationally at Cross Country Championships

Away from Sheffield meanwhile there was further athletics action with King’s Sport Elite cross-country runner Max Nicholls representing his home club of Tonbridge AC in the junior (under-20) event at the English Cross Country Championships.

Held this year over on Parliament Hill and Hampstead Heath, the 10km undulating course suited the local dentistry student and GB & England cross-country runner as Max finished fourth overall in the junior race, helping his Tonbridge AC team to collect the team trophy en-route.