Trio win medals at World University Games
14th July 2009Three University of Bath athletes won medals at the World University Games, which have just drawn to a close in Belgrade.
Grace McCatty and Lauren Wells both featured for the Great Britain women’s football team that won bronze at the Games.
Britain beat France 4-1 in the third place play-off. It was the first time Britain’s women footballers have medalled at the World University Games.
Gemma Gibbons, a 22-year-old Sports Performance graduate, took bronze in the under-70kg judo competition.
Gibbons, who finished seventh at the last World University Games in Thailand two years ago, beat Linda Bolder of the Netherlands to secure bronze.
Business Administration graduate Matt Clay just missed out on the medals in the swimming pool. Clay came fourth in the 50m backstroke final – a race that saw all of the first five finishers dip under the old World University Games record for the event.
Britain’s male footballers couldn’t quite emulate the women. The squad, which featured Gary Warren and Matt Townley, finished fourth after losing the bronze medal match 1-0 to Japan. It was their best performance since taking bronze in Sheffield in 1991.
Team manager Andy Hibbert, a senior teaching fellow in the University of Bath’s Department of Sports Development, said: “It is always disappointing to be so close and miss out on a medal. However on only one other occasion has a GBR men’s football team finished as high as fourth in this tournament away from home. This performance provides a spring board to greater success in two years time.”
The British tennis team won two medals – silver in the men’s doubles and bronze in the mixed doubles. The team was managed by James Andell and coached by Eve Langley, both TeamBath tennis coaches.
Great Britain returned home from Serbia with seven medals – three golds, one silver and three bronzes.
The University of Bath has one of the leading university sports departments in the UK. Under its TeamBath brand, its success is based on the expertise and dedication of staff, and its excellent facilities, used by the community and Olympic medal winners alike.