A 30-strong contingent of Russia’s top track and field athletes will train at the University in the build-up to the Games.

The delegation, which will also include support staff, will arrive on campus on 20 July and depart for the Olympic Village on 1 August.  

As well as making use of the world-leading sports facilities at the University, they will also stay in accommodation on campus.

Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath, said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming the Russian athletics team to the University this summer. They are the latest team to choose Bath as their pre-Games base and their decision further enhances ourstanding as one of the UK’s leading sports training bases.

“We have over 30 Russian students currently studying at Bath and a thriving alumni community and I’m sure they will be thrilled to hear the news.”

Stephen Baddeley, Director of Sport at the University of Bath, said: “The Russian Federation is one of the powerhouses of world athletics and we’re pleased and proud to announce that the Russian athletics team will be training with us at Team Bath in the build-up to the2012 Olympics.

“The Sports Training Village will have a truly international flavour this summer, with athletes from Malaysia, China, Ghana, Egypt and Barbados as well as the UK, and a wide range of other countries, training at Team Bath ahead of 2012.

Cllr David Dixon, Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council already has a very strong relationship with Russia throughenjoying the presence of many visitors during the year. As a consequence we are thrilled that we will be welcoming the athletics team in the build up to the Olympic Games.”

The Russian Federation finished second behind the United States in the medal tables at both the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Korea.

The team landed six gold medals, one short of the USA, as well as five silvers and seven bronzes at the Beijing Olympics.

Their medallists included Yelena Isinbayeva, who set who set world and Olympic records en route to gold in the women’s pole vault, while there were also gold medals for Gulnara Galkina-Samitova in the women’s 3000m steeplechase and Olga Kaniskina in the women’s 20k walk.  The women’s 4×100m relay quartet also took gold, while Andrey Silnov won the men’s high jump and Valeriy Borchin won the men’s 20k walk.

World, Commonwealth and European champion 400m hurdler Dai Greene is among the British track and field athletes who train at the University of Bath.  Tasha Danvers, Andy Pozzi, Jack Green, EilidhChild and Lawrence Clarke also train in the same group coached by Malcolm Arnold, UK Athletics’ National Event Coach – Hurdles.

The Russians are the latest in an impressive list of teams to announce their intention to finalise their 2012 preparations at Team Bath.

China is basing 25 of its top swimmers at the University ahead of the Olympic Games while members of the Malaysian Olympic team will train at the University ahead of the Olympics. The Malaysians have been using the University of Bath as a regular training base since early 2010 in the lead up to large European-based tournaments.

Sports Training Village staff will need to be on their toes once the Olympic Games close on 9 August to turn round the facilities to host the ParalympicsGB camp, featuring ten sports and more than 200 team members, in the run up to the Paralympic Games.

A delegation from the country’s sports and swimming federations visited the University this week to conclude the arrangements and to sign a contract with Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath.

Professor Dame Breakwell said: “We already have strong links with China in terms of academic research and collaboration, so we are delighted to extend this partnership into the areas of sports performance and sport science.

“We have over a thousand Chinese students currently studying at Bath and I’m sure they will be very proud to learn that their University will be hosting the Olympic swimming team ahead of the Games in London.”

The Chinese delegation at the University included the Vice-Chairman of the China Swimming Association (CSA), Mr Shang, who signed the contract with the University as well as Yuan Haoran, Director of the CSA, Mr Yao, their head coach, Mr Xu their team manager and Lu Yifan, Director of Sports Science for the CSA.

Stephen Baddeley, Director of Sport at the University of Bath, hosted the Chinese visitors as they toured the University’s world-leading swim facilities which include a 50m pool plus sport science back-up areas for physiology, physiotherapy, ice-baths and saunas as well as video-analysis capabilities.

He said: “China is one of sport’s global super-powers and, as such, demand world-leading facilities and services to support their athletes as they prepare for the 2012 Games. We are thrilled they have chosen the University of Bath as their pre-Games training base.”

The Chinese delegation will arrive on July 2 and depart for the Olympic Village on July 22. For most of the time the Chinese swimmers will be training alongside the Bath-based British Olympic swimmers as both groups make their final preparations for the Games.

China will join Malaysia who have begun using the University of Bath as a regular training base since early 2010 in the lead up to large European-based tournaments as well as for the Olympic Games.

Sports Training Village staff will need to be on their toes once the Olympic Games close on August 9 to turn round the facilities to host the ParalympicsGB camp, featuring ten sports and more than 200 team members, in the run up to the Paralympic Games.

With less than a year until the opening ceremony of the Paralympic games over 100 athletes from 11 different sports, including archery, boccia and goal ball, took part in a pre-London simulation camp.

The fortnight (15 August – 28 August), which finished on the eve of the one year to go mark, aimed to offer athletes the opportunity to experience a multi-sport environment similar to the one they will be part of ahead of the 2012 London Paralympic games.

The University’s Sports Training Village (STV), accommodation and other facilities were converted to create a distraction-free environment, ideal for the preparation of the incredibly successful Great Britain team.

Jordan Raynes a seven-a-side cerebral palsy football player travelled from Wythenshawe near Manchester to be at the camp. He said: “The key word is motivation. You see and are training alongside people who’ve won gold medals and  it makes you want to go further to win those medals.

“It is really good to draw on their experiences and what different training methods they have. As a Paralympic athlete or as any athlete in general you’ve got to take inspiration from people like that.”

Jordan Raynes seven-a-side Cerebral Palsy football goalkeeper is another visiting the camp

The University also had its own Paralympic hopefuls in attendance, including Great Britain Wheelchair Tennis player Louise Hunt. Louise is studying for a foundation degree in Sports Performance and hoping to convert to an honours degree.

Louise said: “I absolutely love studying here, the course is fantastic. I’ve found in the last couple of years my tennis has improved and I genuinely think that is because I have been learning more about myself and been able to put what I’ve learnt into practice so I think the two are combined fantastically.

“It’s really nice to have the increased interest and it’s just a great opportunity to show this is what we can do and to show how fantastic it [wheelchair tennis] is to watch and play.”

Next year the athletes will return once again to complete their final preparations before transferring to the Olympic village for the start of the competition.

The BPA’s performance director Penny Briscoe said: “This hub is ideal in terms of a lot of facilities all in the same place just a short walk or push across to the accommodation.

The management of the University is very supportive of us being here too and I think that everybody is working really hard to make sure the preparation of British Paralympic athletes for London 2012 is as good as it can possibly be.”

There was a real sense of fun around the campus during the fortnight with staff able to pop into the STV to experience the atmosphere or to join members of the local community on tours of the facilities.

Stephen Baddeley Director of Sport at the University of Bath said: “This BPA camp is really something quite special, the BPA have rebranded the whole place there’s just a fantastic buzz around the building at the moment.”

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The Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Malaysian Government through the Malaysian National Sports Institute (ISN) in a ceremony at the University of Bath’s Sports Training Village.

Malaysian athletes will train at the University of Bath across a range of sports in the build-up to both the London 2012 Olympic Games and to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The reciprocal arrangement means that some Bath-based athletes could also have the opportunity to train in Malaysia.

The University expects the announcement with Malaysia to be the first building block for its involvement with the London Olympics with further nations also expected to choose Bath as their training base ahead of 2012.

The event is the latest touch of Olympic excitement for Bath, which is still gripped by the success of Amy Williams at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. It comes just days after Amy returned to her University training base with the skeleton gold medal she won in Canada.

Professor Glynis Breakwell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath, signed the Memorandum of Understanding along with Dato’ Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz, Director General of the ISN, at a ceremony attended by the Honourable Dato’ Razali Ibrahim, Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports.

Professor Breakwell was delighted to see the signing of the agreement, she said: “The University of Bath prides itself on its international outlook and profile, and on the strong collaborations it builds across the globe.

L-R: Deputy Minister for Youth & Sports of Malaysia, the Honourable Dato’ Razali Ibrahim; Director General of ISN, Dato' Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz; University of Bath Vice-Chancellor, Professor Glynis Breakwell; and University of Bath Director of Sport, Stephen Baddeley.

“Over a quarter of students who choose to study at the University of Bath come from outside the UK,” she added. “This is a wide-ranging agreement not only for 2012 but also beyond to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.”

The Honourable Dato’ Razali Ibrahim, Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, said the agreement is wider than sport.

He said: “I’m looking forward to mutual work between the two parties. We will share whatever we can.

“For Malaysian students this is a good university as far as sports are concerned, but education and sports play a close relationship. You can be a good sportsperson but you also need to have a good education.”

Dato’ Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz, Director General of the ISN, said: “This is an exciting day. It presents a great opportunity for our athletes to be on a strong footing for the London Olympics. It will enhance our preparations, which will give us better prospects of better outcomes.”

Stephen Baddeley, the new Director of Sport at the University of Bath, said: “We have the most vibrant and dynamic training village in the country here in Bath. Having the Malaysian Olympic and Commonwealth Games teams here will add to that environment.

“Sport is the foundation, but it is only the starting point for a much wider relationship.”

Caryn Hoh May Ling, Chair of the University of Bath’s Malaysian and Singaporean Society, said: “On behalf of Malaysian students in Bath I would like to express how excited we are at having the Malaysian team training in Bath. I feel at home in Bath, it’s a really friendly place. Hopefully the national team will feel at home here and enjoy their time here too. I’m sure they will.”

After the signing the Malaysian delegation toured some of the outstanding sports facilities at the University that will be used by Malaysian athletes. Among the athletes expected to use the facilities will be Malaysia’s badminton players, who are ranked among the best in the world.

The delegation watched badminton, netball and rhythmic gymnastics training sessions in the main sports hall, a judo session in the dojo and visited the fitness suite.

They met Jan Bartu, Pentathlon GB’s Performance Director at Pentathlon GB’s high performance centre at the University and also visited the School for Health’s biomechanics laboratories.

For further information please contact the TeamBath press office at Matchtight Ltd on 01225 383518 or the University of Bath press office on 01225 386883.

ParalympicsGB athletes, coaches and support staff will attend the preparation camps at the University of Bath’s Claverton campus between now and London 2012, as well as in the immediate lead up to the Games.

ParalympicsGB selected Bath to host its preparation camps in an exhaustive study of eight possible venues that looked at key factors including sports facilities, accommodation and catering.

Professor Glynis Breakwell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled that ParalympicsGB have chosen the University of Bath to be their preparation base for London 2012.

“From the moment London’s bid to host 2012 was successful we have been committed to making a meaningful contribution to supporting British athletes ahead of the Games, and this is a significant contribution to that objective.

“We are proud and privileged to have been chosen to host the British team and we look forward to working with the British Paralympic Association on all fronts, including sports science research.

“We know that both the University and the City of Bath will roll out the red carpet and make our British Paralympic athletes feel at home,” she added. “We will also strive to ensure that Bath’s selection to host the British team will leave a lasting legacy for disability sport in the area.”

Bath’s world-class facilities, compact site and sports technical expertise, including our proven track record of providing outstanding physiotherapy, sports science and medical services to elite athletes, were leading factors in support of its bid.

Lord Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said: “The South West has excellent sporting facilities which can help the team prepare well for their competitions at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

“Previous athletes have shown how much they have benefited from pre-Games training camps and it’s fantastic to know that many more will get the opportunity to do so in the next three years.”

Ged Roddy, Director of Sport at the University of Bath, said: “We are honoured to be chosen to host the British Paralympic team ahead of 2012.

“The British Paralympic team have been outstandingly successful at recent Games and we aim to provide them with a strong platform to continue that success at London 2012.”

The ParalympicsGB team have finished second in the overall medals table at each of the last three Paralympic Games. They won 102 medals at the Beijing 2008 Games, 42 of which were gold. That performance was only bettered by the host nation.

Phil Lane, Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association, said: “Research has shown that these camps are crucial to the team’s final preparation.

“We have been successful at the past four Games and we know that other nations would love to topple us on our home patch,” he added. “They are investing heavily so we are absolutely focussed on taking the best-prepared team to reach our target of second in the medal table with more medals across more sports.

“Our preparation camps for Beijing played a vital role in securing our success and we are convinced that with Bath as a partner we can raise the bar in everything we do.”

Bath MP Don Foster, Shadow Minister for Sport for the Liberal Democrats, said he was delighted by today’s announcement.

“The University of Bath has built a reputation for sporting excellence and I’m delighted that this has been recognised by ParalympicsGB. I’m sure that the whole city will share my pride and excitement that Bath will be a cornerstone of the British team’s preparation for London 2012 and will warmly welcome our outstanding Paralympians.”

The first athletes to use the ParalympicsGB preparation camps at the University of Bath will arrive in late 2009. Further larger scale multi-sports camps will be held in 2010 and 2011 before Bath becomes the main springboard for athletes in their final preparation weeks for 2012. They will attend the final camps in Bath before moving to the Games Village.