The British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Nationals took place in Sheffield last weekend, where over 5,000 students from across the UK came to compete for their respective university. TeamUCL was represented by over 100 students in almost all of the sports, including Fencing, Swimming, Athletics, Climbing, Badminton and Karate.
UCL Swimming Club’s and TeamUCL Elite Athlete Phyllida Britton put in an impressive performance, winning gold in the 800m Freestyle on Saturday with a time of 8:59:82. She also made it to the 200m Finals in an extremely competitive group of athletes. This year Phyllida has gained bronze, silver and gold medals for TeamUCL, showing just why she has that elite athlete status.
UCL Fencing also put on a strong performance, securing two bronze medals and a gold! Derek Lee took bronze in the Men’s Foil, whilst Keziah Beattie took bronze in the Women’s Foil. Great Britain’s Number 1 and UCL Elite Athlete Caiti Maxwell dominated in the Women’s Sabre on Saturday, comfortably beating every opponent she faced to secure gold.
UCL Climbing and Mountaineering’s GB and TeamUCL Elite Athlete Aidan Roberts also competed in a thrilling final to win gold in the Men’s Individual Climbing event.
Elsewhere there were notable performances from Zack Alexander from UCL Karate in Senior Men’s Kata. UCL Badminton’s Women’s Doubles pair, Sammy Chen and Stephanie Liao, were seeded in the main draw and almost managed to take a set from Loughborough who were the number 2 seeds. First year student May Burke put in a fantastic individual performance to qualify through to the main Women’s Singles draw - expect big things from her in the future! Hugh Williams from RAX also gave a strong performance in the Men’s Shot Put, recording a throw of 12.34m and finishing in the top 10.
A massive well done to all of our clubs and athletes who travelled up to BUCS Nationals, and good luck with the rest of your season.