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Kelly Holmes receives her award (image: Sally Trussler)
Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes and former Brunel student and Olympic heptathlete Kelly Sotherton have received honorary degrees from Brunel University.
Dame Kelly secured her place in history by becoming the first British female athlete to win both the 800m and 1500m in the 2004 Olympic Games. She received the honorary degree of DUniv (Doctor of the University) from the Chancellor, Lord Wakeham.
The ceremony was also used to honour the 16 Brunel students and alumni who competed at the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2008.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Talented Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance student Benjamin Shepherd has won the British Athletic Championships in tumbling.
Tumbling is a gymnastics discipline requiring high jumping abilities, space orientation, co-ordination, power, strength and courage. Although the discipline has not been seen at the Olympics since 1932 (see video), Ben hopes to represent his country if tumbling is chosen as one of the gymnastics disciplines for the forthcoming London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In the meantime, Ben will be busy combining his studies with training for more international tumbling competitions.
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Video
1932 Olympic tumbling champion Roland Wolfe gives a short demonstration of his gymnastic discipline
UEL student Amy Thomason in action
University of East London (UEL) student Amy Thomason is training to compete in the European Universities Karate Championship in Spain.
Amy, the current UK karate champion is busy finishing her final year dissertation for her Media and Creative Industries degree while also being an active member of the Great Britain University Team and representing England in karate.
Once Amy has completed her degree, she hopes to combine her love of sport with her media degree by becoming a sports writer. And with the London 2012 Games fast approaching, there will be plenty of opportunities for her to practise her skills.
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
A computer generated image of the London 2012 Media Centre (source: LOCOG)
The Media Centre for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will create just under 900,000 square feet of business space in legacy with the potential to generate thousands of new jobs.
The Centre will support around 20,000 broadcasters, photographers and journalists communicating the Games to an audience of four billion people worldwide. Combining an innovative mixture of permanent and temporary elements during the Games, the Centre has been designed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate a range of businesses once the Games are over.
In addition to creating new jobs, the Centre will include the use of recycled non-drinking water collected across the Olympic Park and will build new habitats to attract wildlife to the area.
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
The London 'tube' underground railway will help transport the 1.5 million Games spectators
The London 2012 Paralympic Games will be the most compact in history, specifically designed to minimise travel times and maximise accessibility for spectators and athletes.
London will deliver the same high-quality facilities and services for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Sebastian Coe, Chairman of London 2012, said, “We want to set new standards on and off the track, and be a catalyst for continued change for public attitudes towards disability.”
The Paralympic Games take place from 29 August to 9 September and with 20 sports and 4,500 athletes taking part, it is essential venues are easily reached. The majority of venues are just 15 minutes apart and half of all Paralympic sports will take place in the Olympic Park. Prior to the Games, international Paralympic teams can train at one of the UK’s 175 fully accessible sporting venues.
All new permanent sports facilities, Games-related transport and accommodation will also be fully accessible, leaving a wonderful legacy for athletes and communities once the Games have finished.
To find out more visit: www.london2012.com
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Aerial view of the Olympic stadium (source: LOCOG)
Construction of the 80,000 seat Olympic Stadium for the 2012 Games started just 11 months ago and work is well underway on the roof as the 53m high Olympic Stadium takes shape in the east London skyline.
The stadium is just one of many engineering projects providing London’s students with a great opportunity make contact with some of the world’s top construction and engineering companies or even gain some invaluable work experience.
Once built, a 20m-high mural ‘wrap’ will encircle the Stadium. Artists will decorate the wrap with historical sporting champions and participating countries’ flags to give the Stadium its distinctive appearance.
This massive engineering project will be complete in 2011. A year later the Stadium will host all athletics events for the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, watched by millions of people around the world.
After the Games, the Stadium will be transformed into a 25,000 seat venue to host sporting, educational and cultural events. This will ensure the stadium remains at the heart of the local community for years to come.
To find out more visit: www.london2012.com
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Greenwich Park will host the Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon events.
The London 2012 Games will be the Green Games. The Olympic Park is located in an area of untapped potential and sustainability is at the heart of all building and legacy plans. A 35-tonne recycling machine is already sifting and sorting 70,000 cubic metres of industrial and domestic rubbish from under the VeloPark and Olympic Village sites.
Elsewhere, the cleaning and clearing of the Park is already ahead of plan and so far more than 90 percent of demolition material has been recycled and new habitats have been created to relocate local wildlife displaced by building works. Hundreds of tonnes of materials have been reclaimed including lampposts, bricks and manhole covers that will all be used to create aesthetic and practical features for the Park including paths, benches, lighting and water features.
The green vision for the Games continues beyond 2012, when the area will be transformed into the largest urban park created in Europe for more than 150 years.
To find our more visit www.london2012.com
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
London's cultural events highlight why the city is the creative capital
The Olympic Games may be over three years away but Londoners are already celebrating and opening their arms to the world with the Cultural Olympiad, a series of events that showcase our unique internationalism and cultural diversity.
The 2012 Games are a tremendous opportunity for London to display why it is the world leader not only in finance but in culture and creative industries. The Cultural Olympiad has already hosted a variety of events and students are enjoying some of the most creative, diverse and colourful cultural events ever seen at London’s famous landmarks, in its streets, squares and parks.
The Cultural Olympiad brings together culture and sport, encouraging a wide range of audience participation. During events, the streets of London become alive with animated and humanised public spaces, through street theatre, public art, circus skills and live big screen sites.
With such creativity in the city, there are unprecedented opportunities for emerging talents to work alongside great artists, musicians, dancers, performers, singers and other creative professionals.
To find out more visit: www.london2012.com
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Trafalgar Square celebrations
Thousands of people gathered on London’s streets to celebrate the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic success of Team GB’s athletes.
Team GB’s haul of 47 medals in Beijing makes them the most successful modern-era British Olympians ever. There was also success for the ParalympicsGB team who won 102 medals, including 42 golds, to finish second in the table behind China.
London universities have been playing their part too. An amazing one in four of all Team GB medals were won by a London student or alumni. Between them, London’s universities nurtured and trained eleven Olympic medallists and two Paralympic medallists.
The winning London students and alumni at the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games were:
Gold
- Christine Ohuruogu, Women’s 400m (University College London)
- Rebecca Romero, Cycling – Individual Pursuit (St Mary’s University College)
- Helene Raynsford: Gold in the single sculls rowing (Royal Holloway, University of London)
- Sophie Christiansen: Two golds and a silver in Equestrian dressage (Royal Holloway, University of London)
Silver
- Philips Idowu, Triple Jump (Brunel University)
- Frances Houghton, Rowing – Women’s Quadruple Sculls (King’s College London)
- Katherine Grainger, Rowing – Women’s Quadruple Sculls (King’s College London)
- Annabel Vernon, Rowing – Women’s Quadruple Sculls (King’s College London)
- Tom Stallard, Rowing – Men’s Eights (Brunel University)
- Heather Fell, Modern Pentathlon – Individual Competition (Brunel University)
Bronze
- Elise Laverick, Rowing – Women’s Double Sculls (Guildhall School of Music and Drama)
- Matt Wells, Rowing – Men’s Double Sculls (St Mary’s University College)
- William Fox-Pitt, Equestrian – Eventing Team Competition (Goldsmiths, University of London),
Source: BUCS
Universities are now preparing for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by investing in their sports facilities. Seven universities are bidding to host training camps at the Games. Click on the links below to read about the sports facilities available at each participating university:
- Brunel
- London Metropolitan University
- St Mary’s University College
- London Southbank University
- University of Westminster Hockey and Fencing.
- University of East London
Read Sport City on page 16 of the latest edition of insight magazine to discover how London’s universities are training future champions and ensuring the city remains a centre of sports excellence to the London 2012 Olympic Games and beyond.
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
“London is a city where different cultures and thoughts meet. Living in this city, I never feel bored.
