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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
Dominic's Contortionist bike design
Royal College of Art MA graduate Dominic Hargreaves has designed an innovative full size folding bike.
The new graduate’s invention is called the Contortionist in reference to the way the full-sized aluminium frame collapses into the circumference of its wheels.
The design has already been shortlisted for the James Dyson Award for student designers, sponsored by the entrepreneur and inventor James Dyson. The design is only a prototype at the moment but has attracted considerable interest in the industry.
Dominic is also a graduate from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, where he undertook a BA in Product Design. The self-confessed bike fanatic admits to owning 14 bikes, although many of these are in pieces to help him discover how they work.
With cycling increasing in popularity it may not be long until we see these folding bikes being walked along London’s streets.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Video
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
Roehampton University student Sara Anastasi has been selected to play for England in a women’s rugby international friendly against Italy.
Twickenham, home of English rugby
A Sport Sciences Masters’ student and recipient of Roehampton’s Scholarship for Sporting Excellence, Sara will be in the starting line-up for the match and will put all her months of intensive training at her University to the ultimate test. She used the University’s world-class Sport Performance, Assessment and Rehabilitation Centre to optimise her performance and she also benefited from a detailed biomechanical analysis for all aspects of her training programme.
Sara is hoping to follow in the footsteps of another Roehampton student, Maggie Alphonsi, who was named international player of the year in 2006 by the International Rugby Board.
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Cyclist in Canary Wharf
Londoners will soon be able to help themselves to one of 6,000 bikes at 400 locations across the capital.
A new cycle-hire scheme will be launched throughout London’s central zone and within the Royal Parks. The scheme is inspired by the successful ‘vélib’ programme in Paris, which led to a massive increase in cycling.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, also wants to create 12 major cycle routes into central London by 2010. In the long-term, the Mayor will aim to increase cycle journeys in London by 400 percent by 2025.
The Mayor is a champion of cycling and believes that “a cyclised city is a civilised city”. The new cycle hire scheme will herald a transport revolution with more people enjoying the benefits of the most sustainable, healthy and environmentally-friendly transport system in the capital.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
A cycling revolution is underway in the capital. As the world gets greener, Londoners are getting fitter by enjoying the sounds and sights of London on their bikes. Cycling in the city increased 83% in the last year.
Cyclehoop
(source: www.cyclehoop.com)
Architect student and cycle fanatic Tony Lau is at the heart of the revolution. The University College London and University of Westminster graduate has invented a bike stand called Cyclehoop which has been installed across the city to deter bike thieves and help cyclists keep their bikes safe.
Cyclehoop comprises two steel hoops that can be clamped to existing street furniture, such as signposts, in a matter of minutes. Using signposts as bike stands saves installation time and money as well as space on London’s busy streets.
Tony’s eye catching design has won awards too, including a WestFocus Bright Ideas award and a finalist position in HSBC’s Unipreneur awards, providing him with the capital and business support vital to ensure Cyclehoop is a success.
Tony is now working on a project to design indoor bike storage solutions for the New York office of Google. Google liked his design and, after coming joint first in their competition, he is now preparing to talk to Google and New York City Council about his solution to cycle parking inside buildings.
From the Tube to the London taxi, the capital is a city of travel icons and thanks to design graduates like Tony, travelling in London will continue to be an aesthetic pleasure.
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
The countdown to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games started with a party for 40,000 people in front of Buckingham Palace on 24 August 2008. The Mall in front of the Palace was draped with the Union Jack and 2012 flags while in Beijing the Olympic Flag was handed to the Mayor of London marking London’s role as the next Host City.
Watch the video courtesy of London 2012 – www.London2012.com.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
“London is a city where different cultures and thoughts meet. Living in this city, I never feel bored.
