Marilia Passos Magno e Silva came to the University of Bath after securing funding from the CAPES Foundation of the Brazilian Ministry of Education.

During her time at Bath, Marilia worked closely with Dr James Bilzon, Head of Department for Health and Director of the DisAbility Sport & Health research group.

They jointly prepared and submitted five papers on the nature and epidemiology of sports injuries in various Paralympic sports, two of which have already been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Sports Medicine and the Journal of Athletic Training.

Marilia with Brazilian Paralympian Alan Oliveira after winning his gold medal in the T43/44 200m final

Marilia’s knowledge and expertise helped her to be selected by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee to act as the lead Sports Physiotherapist for the Brazilian team at the London 2012 Games.

Dr James Bilzon said: “Through our close links with the English Institute of Sport, we were put in contact with Marilia following the first Brazilian Paralympic Congress.

“After securing the funding she needed, we were delighted that Marilia could come to Bath where we worked on a series of papers in English, for submission to various Sports Medicine journals.

“Marilia was a very committed and industrious student, who had completed a series of studies on sports injuries in Brazilian Paralympic athletes, primarily with visual impairment.

“It was a pleasure to have worked with Marilia and my thanks goes out to the substantial support given to Marilia from the University’s academic writing coaches.”                                         

Marilia added: “My time at the University of Bath was one of the most important ones in my academic life. I had all the support that I needed in order to develop my research about sports injuries in paralympic sport. I worked on five papers with Dr Bilzon, improved my academic writing, and got in contact with the GB Paralympic Team with Dr. Stuart Miller, who also helped in the development of my PhD Project.

“It’s an excellent institution for foreign students not only because of the facilities but also because of the very friendly atmosphere where you can feel like you are at home. I hope to be part of other projects at the university in the future.”

Hadia Hosny El Said will graduate this winter from Bath, on Tuesday 11 December, having represented her country at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Hadia, 23, came to the University from her native country Egypt to study for an MSc in Medical Biosciences.

She made history at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games when a last minute promotion from reserve just 13 days before the start of the Games saw her become the first Egyptian badminton player to compete at an Olympic Games.

After the excitement of her first Olympics, Hadia sought to continue studying at a university where she could combine her academic and sporting activities. Hadia chose the University of Bath having taken advice from former British Olympian Richard Vaughan; a previous trainee at Bath and manager of the World Badminton Federation’s Road to London Project in Africa.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor for teaching and Learning Bernie Morley congratulates Hadia on her Olympic achievement

During her time at Bath, Hadia received a high standard of badminton coaching by former international Pete Bush, the head badminton coach at the University, who also coached Vaughan.

He said: “Hadia has been a joy to coach and work with, she is considerate, punctual, reliable, hard-working and always in a good mood. She has outstanding organisational skills and has the ability to combine studying with full-time training.

“She organises her badminton and physical training around her seminars & lectures and completed assignments and exams whilst continuing to travel around the world playing tournaments.

“Hadia is an extraordinary young woman. In the short time that I have known her, I have seen many examples of her talent and been impressed by her diligence and work ethic.”

Her graduation is testament to her ability to balance the demands of academic application and elite training.

Having achieved her original goal of qualifying for the 2012 Games as the highest ranked women’s African player, this summer she proudly represented Egypt and the University of Bath in the Games but sadly didn’t progress beyond the group stages.

Dr Momna Hejmadi, Hadia’s course tutor, in the Department of Biology & Biochemistry, said: “Hadia chose to come to Bath on our MSc Medical Biosciences programme, despite being offered scholarships from other UK universities. She has been very impressive in maintaining high academic standards in parallel with her intensive training commitments, completing coursework assignments from various global locations.

“She has been an inspirational ambassador to both her peers and school students and it has been a pleasure to have known her.”

For Hadia, the University holds a special place in her heart. She said: “I really enjoyed my time at Bath so much and although I had to travel a lot for tournaments, I was always looking forward to getting back home to the University.”

“The facilities were fantastic and I couldn’t have asked for more – the great badminton courts, an awesome gym and personal trainers as well as facilities such as an ice bath, hydro pool and physiotherapists made such a difference.”

GB Paralympian Louise Hunt graduates

Twenty-one year old Louise graduated with a Foundation Degree in Sports Performance having most recently experienced success after claiming her fifth International Tennis Federation women’s doubles title of the year with victory at the Nottingham indoor Wheelchair Tennis Tournament.

The London 2012 Games captivated a world-wide audience and to have competed in such a prestigious and elite event was a significant moment in Louise’s life.

She said: “To have represented Great Britain in the Paralympics was a real honour for me and I am very proud to have achieved what I did. Experiencing the Games as both a competing athlete and spectator was a moment I will never forget.”

Having completed her degree, the Swindon-based wheelchair tennis athlete hopes to continue competing in her sport through to the Rio 2016 Games. She has also recently completed a counselling course and is looking to continue studying alongside her sporting ambitions.

And Louise knows how demanding it is to try and combine both academic studies with elite training having successfully juggled her time whilst at the University.

She said: “It was a bit hectic. But I love to be busy and my aim was always to graduate from University and go to the Games in the same year, and I did it!

“I loved being at Bath, the support from all my lecturers and sports coaches was fantastic, they certainly helped make my ambitions possible.”

Louise’s impressive tennis skills may be attributed to the many hours she spent knocking the ball over the net of her neighbour’s tennis courts when she was young.

She recalled: “I first started playing tennis when I was five years old. We moved house and our neighbours had a tennis court in their back garden, so I just played with all the family. Then four tennis courts were built opposite my house, so it was like I was destined to play tennis!

“Up until the age of 18 I also competed in wheelchair racing, winning seven out of ten London mini wheelchair marathons. Although I enjoyed racing my heart always lay with tennis and there was a time I had to choose one of them.

“I went to the Stoke Mandeville primary and junior games for years, and that is where I found out about how I could really get involved with tennis and the opportunities it could lead to. I met some of the national coaches there and they were very keen for me to pursue tennis from the start.

“I was put on the GB performance squad at 12 years old and competed for my country for the first time at 13 years old. I enjoy the training and competing a lot more for tennis than I did racing, and the opportunity to travel doing something you love is also amazing. I have had the privilege to work with and meet so many incredible people who have inspired me along my journey.”

University of Bath Director of Sport, Stephen Baddeley, said: “The University of Bath prides itself on supporting talented sportsmen and women to achieve both their sporting and academic potential and Louise is a wonderful example of this. We are especially proud of our involvement with Paralympic sport and it was a personal delight to be amongst the spectators as Louise competed in London 2012.”

Bronze and silver on the track for Paul Blake

Bath-based athlete Paul Blake sprinted to silver in the T36 400m final in the second week of the Paralympics on Tuesday 4 September. The 22 year-old is coached at our Sports Training Village by Rob Ellchuck. He produced a classic 400m run in front of a capacity 80,000 crowd in the Olympic stadium.

“I was so nervous,” said Paul. “Rob told me to take in the crowd at the start and then concentrate on the first 200m, go out strong, not panic and try to stay between Shvetcov and Pavlyk which I did.

“The crowd was like having a second pair of legs, it was just amazing.”

Two nights later Paul went on to win a second medal, taking bronze in the 800m.

He came home in 2:08.24 – a time that would have earned him gold in Beijing four years ago.
He said: “I’m really happy with a silver and a bronze. I’m just trying to get better and better and I’ve got plenty of time to improve.

“It’s an honour to put the GB vest on every time, I’m really really proud.”

4×100m bronze for Katrina Hart

Sports Performance graduate Katrina Hart rounded off a terrific evening in the Olympic Stadium by helping the ParalympicsGB 4×100m T35-38 relay quartet to bronze.

Katrina, who is also coached by Ellchuk at the University, ran the third leg for the British team as they came home third in 56.08 behind Russia and China.

She said: “I love that bend. I just absolutely went for it and I heard the crowd just roaring and it was incredible…amazing.

It was touch and go on the last leg but we held them off so it’s great.”

Bronze for swimmer Liz Johnson

Liz Johnson won bronze in the SB6 100m breaststroke final on Wednesday 5 September.

Liz trains at Bath and clocked a time of 1:40.90 to come home in third place behind Ukraine’s Viktoriia Savtsova, who set a Paralympic record, with Britain’s Charlotte Henshaw taking silver.

Liz’s bronze means she now has a full set of medals, after winning silver in Athens eight years ago and gold in Beijing in 2008.

“I’ve never had a bronze medal, so now I’ve got the full set at the Paralympics,” said Johnson. “I’m definitely glad I got a medal in front of the home crowd.”

Ben Rushgrove wins 200m bronze

Ben Rushgrove, a Sports Performance graduate who is also coached by Ellchuk, ran a personal best in the T36 200m final on Thursday 6 September to win a bronze medal. He ran a fantastic bend to achieve a personal best of 24.83 and adds bronze to the silver he won over 100m four years ago in Beijing.

“Now I’ve got my medal I can go out and celebrate what is an amazing achievement. I’m hugely privileged to have the opportunities I’ve had to pursue my dreams and see what comes of them,” said Ben.

“When you win your first Paralympic medal you enter quite an elite club of people already, but when you win two medals, that’s fantastic,” he added.

Congratulations to all of the athletes in our Paralympian Roll of Honour:

• Darren Harris, football
• Louise Hunt, tennis
• Sophie Kamlish, T42/43/44 100m and 200m
• Nyree Kindred, swimming
• Sascha Kindred, swimming
• Stephanie Millward, swimming
• Alexandra Rickham, sailing
• David Smith, rowing
• Matthew Walker, swimming

And to all of the ParalympicGB athletes who trained at Bath ahead of the Paralympic Games.

Heather Stanning and Helen Glover win rowing gold

Bath graduate Heather Stanning and her rowing partner Helen Glover brought home Team GB’s first gold medal of the Games in the Women’s Pair on the first Wednesday of the Games. Both athletes were discovered through GB Rowing Team’s Start programme based here at the Sports Training Village.

This was a historic win as they became Britain’s first women Olympic rowing gold medallists.

Heather, a Sports Technology graduate, said: “I’m absolutely shattered and absolutely ecstatic all at the same time. I want to collapse but I’m just so overjoyed, I just want to jump around.”

Swimming silver for Michael Jamieson

Later that day Sports Performance student Michael Jamieson made it a winning Wednesday by swimming to silver in the 200m breaststroke.

He set a British record of 2:07.43 – Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta had to set a world record of 2:07.28 to edge Michael off the top spot on the podium.

Michael was joined in the final by Chemical Engineering student Andrew Willis who swam fantastically during his semi-final to qualify third fastest overall and finished in eighth place.

The pair train at the British Swimming Bath Intensive Training Centre which is based at the University.

Michael said: “It’s so much easier to swim when you’ve got a bit of confidence. I’ve had so many messages of support, it’s been unbelievable, I was desperate to get on the podium tonight to repay the support.

“I’ve gone over this in my head for so many years, I’m delighted.”

He also paid tribute to Andrew Willis, saying, “In a couple of years he’s definitely going to be the man to beat.”

Gemma Gibbons wins Silver in Judo

Former student Gemma Gibbons brought an emotional silver to the table the following day with a fantastic performance in the women’s under-78kg class.

Gemma became Great Britain’s first Olympic judo medallist for 12 years.

Gemma graduated in Sports Performance in 2009 and trained with our head judo coach Juergen Klinger whilst completing her studies.

He said he was delighted to see her win silver. “I’m really happy for her because she is such a great person, a very talented girl and hard worker. She produced some fantastic performances today and winning a silver medal at an Olympic Games is a phenomenal performance.”

Gemma was coached at the competition by Britain’s last Olympic judo medallist, Kate Howey, who won silver at the Sydney 2000 Games when she also trained in Bath.

Modern pentathlon Silver for Samantha Murray

Politics with French student Samantha Murray celebrated winning Team GB’s last medal of the London 2012 Olympic Games when she took modern pentathlon silver at the final event of the Games.

The 22-year-old produced a terrific all round performance to capture the fifth Olympic medal won by Britain’s pentathletes from the four Games since the sport for women made its Olympic debut in Sydney. It was Team GB’s 65^th medal of the London 2012 Olympics.

Murray, who trains at the Pentathlon GB high performance centre at the University, said: “I’m completely elated, it was such good fun today. It’s been an amazing day.

“It was an honour to compete in front of a home crowd, it was a complete dream to have them screaming for me. I was enjoying running in front of them so much I could have gone on for another 10 minutes. I’m so glad I could give something back.

“I feel humble and so very content. I’m also so happy for all the people who have stuck by me and supported me.”

Congratulations to all of the athletes in our Olympian Roll of Honour:

• Eilidh Child, athletics, 400m hurdles
• Lawrence Clarke, athletics, 110m hurdles
• Jack Green, athletics, 400m hurdles and 4×400m relay
• Dai Greene, athletics, 400m hurdles and 4×400m relay
• Lee Merrien, athletics, marathon
• Marilyn Okoro, athletics, 4×400m relay
• Andrew Pozzi, athletics, 110m hurdles
• Danny Talbot, athletics, 4×100m relay
• Hadia Hosny El Said, badminton (Egypt)
• Zara Dampney, beach volleyball
• Shauna Mullin, beach volleyball
• Natalia Sheppard, fencing
• Richard Mantell, hockey
• Emmanuel Nartey, judo
• Gemma Howell, judo
• Mhairi Spence, modern pentathlon
• Sam Weale, modern pentathlon
• Nick Woodbridge, modern pentathlon
• Georgina Cassar, rhythmic gymnastics, group all-around
• Jade Faulkner, rhythmic gymnastics, group all-around
• Frankie Fox, rhythmic gymnastics, group all-around
• Lynne Hutchison, rhythmic gymnastics, group all-around
• Louisa Pouli, rhythmic gymnastics, group all-around
• Rachel Smith, rhythmic gymnastics, group all-around
• Marcus Bateman, rowing, men’s openweight reserve
• Adam Freeman-Pask, rowing, men’s lightweight reserve
• Victoria Thornley, Rowing, women’s eight
• Siobahn-Marie O’Connor, swimming, 100m breaststroke
• Stacey Tadd, swimming, 200m breaststroke
• Chris Walker-Hebborn, swimming 100m and 200m backstroke

And to the athletes and squads from more than a dozen nations who have completed training at Bath ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Jon graduated with a BSc (hons) in Sport & Exercise Science this summer before returning to campus as a Student’s Union Officer. He has now taken up post as the new Vice President for Sport.

“I have had quite a busy summer already and it has just been topped off with my twenty-first birthday present- watching Usain Bolt and Oscar Pistorius at the London Games.

“It was awesome to watch Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, and Oscar Pistorius, the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics, ahead of the upcoming Paralympics. To experience the atmosphere was incredible; how such a huge stadium went deadly quiet before the start and then exploded as the race began, it was amazing!

“I feel really proud to have gone to the Games. Being born and bred in London and to see what we (the Country) have achieved in hosting such a world-famous event gives me a real sense of national pride.”

Jon has now returned to Bath and begun his work as a sabbatical officer, a position he was pleased to get.

“I was ecstatic when I was elected as the Students’ Union Sport Officer and am excited to have started now as it gives me the opportunity to give back to the University. Having been the Sports editor for the student newspaper Impact in my second and third years, it just seemed like the next step to take.”

Coming to university often provides students with the opportunity to try their hand at new sports and hobbies, and as a keen sportsman, Jon explains what drew him here and why he is looking forward to another year at the Claverton Down campus.

“The world class sporting facilities were one of the key reasons I came here. I looked around a lot of universities and when I visited Bath, the Sports Training Village was an area that really impressed me in that it was clearly a world class sporting facility breeding world class athletes.

“We have such a high quality of athletes here at Bath with the likes of Michael Jamieson and Dai Greene. It has been interesting to see them performing on their own stage compared to seeing them train every day in the Sports Training Village. It was good to witness how hard work can really pay off when pursuing your dreams.

“The fact that the University has accommodated a host of nation’s athletes including Malaysia, China and Russia, as well as being the training base for the Paralympics GB squad, is a testament to the investment and high standard of facilities we have here at Bath. Also, to have lecturers and members of academic staff involved with the Games shows we do more than just produce world class athletes.

“You don’t initially appreciate the calibre of person you have teaching you sometimes, but when you look outside of the lecture hall you begin to realise how lucky you are to be learning from such highly esteemed individuals.”

She is working as an event services team member at the beach volleyball competition at Horse Guards Parade, in the heart of London.

Katerina chose to volunteer for beach volleyball because she played softball for the national team of her home country, the Czech Republic, for six years. She says that like beach volleyball, it’s a fast-paced game that requires speed, stamina, excellent technical skills and tactical play.

Katerina enjoys playing sport at University, and is a member of the Students’ Union Tennis Club.

She said: “To volunteer at the Games is an amazing opportunity to see the Olympics from ‘inside’ as I have always been fascinated by them. I’ve watched the Olympics on TV and now I suddenly have the chance to actually be a part of it all, even if it is a very tiny one.”

Katerina is greeting spectators as they arrive at the venue, helping them to find their seats and is on-hand for queries that crop up.  

“The selection process took about a year and a half, but I’m glad I waited as this is a great chance for me,” she said. “The location of the venue is stunning so all in all it’s a fantastic experience.”

The event also has a close connection to Bath which has made the experience extra special for Katerina. The University’s Sports Training Village is the UK training base for the British beach volleyball programme and for Team GB athletes Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin. 

The first rowing gold

On Wednesday University of Bath graduate Heather Stanning and her rowing partner Helen Glover brought home Team GB’s first gold medal of the games in the Women’s Pair. Both athletes were discovered through GB Rowing Team’s Start programme based here at the Sports Training Village.

This was a historic win as they became Britain’s first women Olympic rowing gold medallists.

Heather, a Sports Technology graduate, said: “I’m absolutely shattered and absolutely ecstatic all at the same time. I want to collapse but I’m just so overjoyed, I just want to jump around.”

Swimming silver

Sports Performance student Michael Jamieson completed a great day on Wednesday by winning silver in the 200m breaststroke.

Michael was joined in the final by Chemical Engineering student Andrew Willis who swam fantastically during his semi-final to qualify third fastest overall.

The pair train at the British Swimming Bath Intensive Training Centre which is based at the University. They both benefit from the expertise that has seen the centre named the “Bath Breaststroke Factory” in the media.

Interviewed by the BBC on Thursday, Stephen Baddeley, Director of Sport said: “We are delighted to be associated with yesterdays performances.”

Silver for Judo

Former student Gemma Gibbons brought an emotional silver to the table on Thursday with a fantastic performance in the women’s under-78kg class. Gemma graduated in Sports Performance in 2009 and trained with our head judo coach Juergen Klinger whilst completing her studies.

He said he was delighted to see her win silver. “I’m really happy for her because she is such a great person, a very talented girl and hard worker. She produced some fantastic performances today and winning a silver medal at an Olympic Games is a phenomenal performance.”

Gemma becomes Great Britain’s first Olympic judo medallist for 12 years.

Take a look at the Olympic schedule and results for more about our athletes performances.

Libyan born Karima Elmagrebi, a third year MEng (hons) Civil & Architectural Engineering student, has agreed to put her summer plans on hold in order to translate for fellow Libyan, Paralympic power-lifter Abdelrazik Baa Ba.

Abdel is among the many international athletes based at the University having arrived with Libya’s Olympic athletes at the start of June. After a three week stay he returned home with his Olympic team mates and support staff as scheduled.

Once back in Libya, Abdel was keen to continue training using the high standard of facilities he had access to at Bath. He has now returned to Bath with the approval of the Libyan Olympic committee.

Abdel said: “When I initially came to Bath, I was really impressed with the high standard of facilities as well as the atmosphere which was great to train in. I seemed to be a lot more relaxed in my training and found I was pushing myself harder as a result.

“When I went home, I was very keen to keep training in Bath so spoke to the Libyan Olympic committee who agreed for me to return to the UK to continue my programme.”

“To be able to help my country, even if it is in just a small way by translating for Abdel, means a lot and makes me feel part of the overall Olympic spirit in what is one of the greatest events in the world,” Kareema said.

When Abdel first came to Bath he had the support of the team’s back room staff who translated for him. However, now that he is back in Bath on his own accord, Karima’s help is proving invaluable.

“I am helping Abdel in a number of activities, the main things being translating training instructions from his coach and also providing advice during physio and massage,” she said.

Karima recognised the significance of Bath accommodating so many international athletes. She said: “As a student at Bath, I am so proud that the University is hosting such prestigious athletes. It is a credit to the Sports Training Village, where facilities and services are undoubtedly among the best in the country.

“To have Olympic and Paralympic athletes training here during my time studying at Bath is something quite special and I am sure not many students will experience this.”

Whilst Karima spoke of her pride in helping Abdel, she also commented on what it meant to her personally.

“To be able to help my country, even if it is in just a small way by translating for Abdel, means a lot and makes me feel part of the overall Olympic spirit in what is one of the greatest events in the world,” Karima said.

Abdel added: “It is an incredible feeling to be representing my country in the Paralympics- it’s a dream come true! It has taken a large amount of time and effort but it has all been worth it.

“With the recent tough times that Libya has been going through, I hope that I can bring some happiness, and possibly a medal home, for my country.”

Rachel spent her placement year at Event360, a sports event management company, an experience which she believes helped her to secure her Olympic role, together with management experience from her involvement in numerous student committees and events teams.

“The first medal ceremony of the Olympic Games will be in the shooting finals hall after the Women’s 10m Air Rifle,” she said. “It will be an amazing start to the Olympics and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”

Rachel, 22, graduated this year from our newly-named BA Sport & Social Sciences programme and has been working as Shooting Field of Play Group leader since April. She is managing Games Maker volunteers within the four shooting ranges at the Olympic and Paralympic Shooting venue.

“In April we hosted the ISSF Shooting World Cup which was part of the London Prepares Series and with over 800 athletes and continuous rain, it was certainly a good test for us prior to the Games.

“We’re now busy preparing for July and I can’t wait to see all of our Games Makers again and for the athletes to arrive. We had a great team at our test event and the Games Makers really do make the Games. It wouldn’t be the same without everyone’s hard work and enthusiasm!”

Rachel finished her studies at Bath early to enable her to take up the London 2012 role. “Although I missed a lot of final year celebrations, I certainly wasn’t going to turn down such a great opportunity at London 2012 and I am one hundred per cent sure that I made the right decision.”

“I worked incredibly hard to be able to leave Bath at the end of March and my lecturers were really supportive in helping me to do this.”

— Rachel Spry, Sports & Social Sciences graduate

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and as I’m just stepping onto the career ladder it’s the perfect time for me to gain valuable experience and develop my career.”

“As the Games get closer everyone is busy working hard to ensure we produce a great event. We’re all looking forward to the first day of competition and, of course, really excited!”