It’s another jam-packed edition of Sport & Active Health. We have had a busy summer of sport with involvement in the Olympics and Paralympics as well as a number of other athletes representing Great Britain in a number of other events. There’s been plenty going on across the unit as well.
Olympics
The curtain may have come down on the Olympics but the memories will live on for a long time as Paris played host to another exceptional Games and 14 University-linked athletes and staff more than played their part, bringing home two bronze medals and inspiring the next generation.
Medallists, Oli Wilkes and Aleksandra Kalucka, were simply sensational in their performances. Oli in the Men’s Four Rowing and Aleksandra in Sport Climbing.
Congratulations to Oli and Aleksandra on their medals as well as Charlie Aldridge, Lucy Hope, Lucy Glover, Seonaid McIntosh, Sarah Roberston, Amy Costello, Lisa Thomson, Megan Keith and Grace Reid for all making it to Paris and doing themselves proud.
A shout out to Pete Mitchell (Golf), Donald McIntosh (Shooting) and Sarah Wilson (Hockey) who all played their part in the Paris Olympics as well, with Sarah umpiring the Olympic Hockey final, a huge honour and testament to her standing in the sport.
Hall of famers JJ Chalmers and Sir Chris Hoy were also in starring roles at the Olympics working for the BBC as presenters and analysts throughout.
In his Paralympics campaign, athlete and swimmer Stephen Clegg won two gold medals in S12 butterfly and backstroke. Massive congratulations to him for this incredible achievement, and to his coach, Mathew Trodden.
University of Edinburgh enters into new Partnership with Aquatics GB
The University of Edinburgh has entered into an exciting new partnership with Aquatics GB, Scottish Swimming and Edinburgh Leisure to develop and deliver one of only three high performance centres for diving in the UK.
Team GB Diving squad had a very successful Paris Olympics picking up one silver medal and four bronze medals and University scholar Grace Reid was part of that team and made the final of the 3m Springboard in what was her third Olympics.
This partnership is hugely exciting for all parties as they look to build on this successful period in the sport and develop the next generation of Diving talent in Scotland.
Hosted by the University, the partnership will see an Aquatics GB Performance Centre Lead Coach lead, develop and manage the high-performance diving centre programme at the Edinburgh Royal Commonwealth Pool with the directive of producing medal-winning performances at Olympic, World Championship and Commonwealth Games level.
University of Edinburgh partners with Scottish Hockey
The University of Edinburgh has announced a new Centre of Excellence partnership with Scottish Hockey as work begins to refurbish Peffermill’s Hockey AstroTurf pitch.
The University of Edinburgh is proud to announce a landmark partnership with Scottish Hockey to establish a new Centre of Excellence. As part of this exciting collaboration, the Scottish National Women’s and Men’s teams will relocate their permanent training base to the Peffermill Playing Fields, utilising the world-class facilities both at Peffermill and within the Pleasance Sports Complex.
The partnership includes a significant investment by the University, as work begins today with SPORTEX (with Polytan) to lay a new state-of-the-art artificial turf pitch on Hockey Pitch 2. This enhancement underscores the University’s commitment to supporting elite hockey performance and fostering athletic excellence.
The installation of the new Poligras Paris GT Zero surface at Peffermill will provide an elite training facility in the heart of Scotland with the surface originally developed for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The AstroTurf is the world’s first and only carbon zero hockey turf and has also been innovation-certified for dry hockey by the Federation of International Hockey.
From Edinburgh to Lusaka: Volunteer Zambia 2024
This summer, four students and one staff member from the University of Edinburgh participated in the Volunteer Zambia project, running from 2 July to 22 September.
The Volunteer Zambia (VZ) initiative is part of the Wallace Group, a collaboration of seven UK universities that send students to Zambia to work alongside Sport in Action, a local organisation dedicated to enhancing the quality of sports coaching and education across the country. The University of Edinburgh students supported various sites across Lusaka, contributing to the development of sports education while gaining invaluable life skills in the process.
In Group 1, Izzy, Kene, and Orla were part of a cohort of 13 students, staying in Ibex Hill, Lusaka, where they shared accommodation with peers from five other UK universities.
Izzy Skinner, the Women’s Football Development Officer and a Year 1 Geography MA student, reflected on the experience, saying, “The best thing about VZ was learning new skills from the Zambian coaches and being able to apply our coaching advice to see improvement. I’ve learned to be more confident in any situation and to give 100% effort to everything.” She encouraged others to get involved with the programme, highlighting the unique opportunity to experience different sporting environments and gain a deeper appreciation of the structures in place in the UK.
Similarly, Kene Ileagu, the Basketball Development Officer and a Year 1 Economics student, praised the people he met in Zambia, stating, “The best thing about VZ was definitely the people. The warmth, kindness, and enthusiasm of everyone I met made the experience truly special. It was also inspiring to be part of such a dedicated and passionate team.” Kene emphasised that the project allowed him to step out of his comfort zone, develop his teamwork and problem-solving skills, and gain a clearer vision of the impact he wants to make in his future career.
Aisling Doyle, the University of Edinburgh staff member who supported the project from 24 June to 17 July, described the experience as “the most incredible experience of my life.” Ash visited multiple hub sites facilitated by Sport in Action and mentioned the happiness and kindness of the children and coaches, despite the limited resources available. Reflecting on the experience, Ash said, “I will miss everyone I met out in Zambia so much and really hope one day I can go back again for longer and help with more of the amazing work that goes on out there.”
The fourth student from Edinburgh, Archie, joined as part of Group 2, which continues the work until 22 September. Having graduated in July, Archie will transition directly from his time in Zambia to a role teaching English in France.
Dr Jasmin Paris adds royal honour to long list of achievements
Hall of Fame inductee, Dr Jasmin Paris, has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours. The honour is in recognition of Dr Paris’ service to fell and long distance running.
In March, Jasmin, made history by becoming the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons in Tennessee, one of the world’s toughest challenges. The record breaking ultrarunner cemented her place in the history books by finishing the gruelling 100-mile race within its 60-hour time limit. She is one of only 20 people to complete the race in its 38-year history.
Not only is Jasmin a phenomenal athlete she is an exceptional veterinarian at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary studies, where she stars as senior lecturer in Small Animal Internal Medicine.
Her achievements as an elite ultra-marathon runner are well-documented, including summiting a record-breaking 29 Munros, Scottish mountains over 3000 feet, within 24 hours.
Megan Keith takes bronze at the European Athletics Championships
Applied Sports Science student, Megan Keith continues to add to her recent international successes in the 10,000m, claiming her first senior medal, and finishing third in the European Athletics Championships.
Megan is performing at the top of her game. At the end of 2023 she broke the 10,000m record at the European U23 Championships by over a minute and in May won gold at the night of 10,000m PB’s, in turn securing automatic Olympic qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
This is a testament to Megan’s hard work, supported by Coach Ross Cairns, and Physical Preparation Coach Rory Downie through the University of Edinburgh sport scholarship programme.
Two students selected for the Scotland Summer Internationals squad
Harry Paterson and Matt Currie have been selected for the Scotland Rugby Squad for the upcoming Summer Tour of Americas where they will take on Canada, USA, Chile and Uruguay.
Matt Currie has previous experience of a Summer Tour having started for Scotland A vs Chile two years ago in a 45-5 victory. This would be a first senior cap if selected for any of the matches.
Harry Paterson has already made his senior debut and will be looking to add to that appearance in the Tour of Americas this summer.
Both Matt and Harry star for our partners Edinburgh Rugby.
Men’s Scottish Varsity Match 2024
Tickets are now available for the 2024 Men’s Scottish Varsity Rugby Match, a prestigious event that will see the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh compete in continuation of their ancient rivalry, as Scotland’s two oldest university rugby clubs.
The match will be held on Saturday 21 September 2024 at 14:00 in the Hive Stadium, Edinburgh.
Tickets cost £10 for students and £15 for adults, excluding the booking fee. They are available to purchase via the Scottish Varsity Match website: Scottish Varsity Match.
