Hugo Fleming
Sport: Modern Pentathlon; Athletics
Course: 2nd Year Wellcome Trust PhD Studentship in Neuroscience
Sporting Achievements:
Athletics – ranked 9th at England U23 Championships 2017 and 10th at BUCS 2017 PB of 1:51.37, champion and current record-holder in the 800m at the LUCA Indoor Championships 2017, 800m winner at the Varsity Match 2018, current record holder of LUCA Outdoor Series (800m and 4x400m relay)
Modern Pentathlon – 2nd place at BUCS Championships 2017
Bio:
My first experience of a national competition was aged 9, when I took part in a Schools' Biathlon (running and swimming) organised by the Modern Pentathlon Association. They invited me onto their training programme, and I worked on learning the remaining Pentathlon events - shooting, fencing and show-jumping. Later that year I won the MPA British Triathlon Championships, and subsequently, I went on to take six more national titles as a youth athlete and represented GB internationally.
Running became my favourite event of the Pentathlon and, after finishing 3rd in the 800m at the 2009 English Schools' Championships, I began also pursue Athletics more seriously in its own right. I love the simplicity of it, and the intensity; nothing beats the feeling of kicking off the final bend into the home straight at the end of a tough session of 400m repeats.
As an undergraduate at Oxford University I continued to compete to a high level in both Athletics and Modern Pentathlon, and I am particularly proud of my BUCS placings in both sports. There is of course always room for improvement, and in my case the next targets are obvious - to progress to a Gold medal in the BUCS Pentathlon and run a sub-1:50 800m. Now I am in my second year at UCL I am very pleased with the training set-up I have established in London - in particular, with the extensive support of the Elite Team at UCL I am confident that my goals are within reach.