Latest news from Loughborough University
| 14 March 2007 | PR 07/31 |
Date for Accenture Loughborough International Athletics match announced
Loughborough University’s annual international athletics match, which is in its 49th year, has been confirmed for Sunday May 20.
The match brings together teams from the University, the Great Britain under-20 and Students squads and international athletes representing England, Wales and Scotland. England won the match last year with Loughborough Students in second place.
“We always look forward to hosting the Accenture international athletics match,” said University events manager Ben Aherne. “It is one of the early season highlights for the track and field calendar as the athletes move to the outdoors from the indoor season.
“This year, of course, has added significance because the world athletics championships are being held in Osaka in Japan in August – just a year out from the Beijing Olympics so the athletes are really starting to hone their training towards competing in China next year.”
University director of athletics George Gandy, who coaches Commonwealth 1500m champion Lisa Dobriskey and British indoors 1500m champion Chris Warburton, said the success of Loughborough associated athletes at the recent European indoors championships augurs well for the match.
“We had two current (David Gillick and Phil Taylor) and one former (Nicola Sanders) University trained athletes win gold medals in Birmingham while former student Nathan Douglas won silver in the triple jump,” said Gandy.
“Three of the four bronze medal winning 4x400m women’s relay squad also graduated from the University, while three other former University trained athletes finished in fourth place in their respective events.
“The European indoor championships only served to highlight the excellent programme we have at the University and we are hoping to ensure that most of them come back here and compete in May.”
The first field event begins at 1100 with the first track event starting at 1200. Tickets are available from April from Loughborough University’s sports reception on 01509 226250. Adult tickets are £5, with concessions £3.
Ends
For all media enquiries contact:
- Greg Stutchbury, Sports PR Officer
T: 01509 228686, E: G.M.Stutchbury@lboro.ac.uk
Notes to editors
Loughborough has an established reputation for excellence
in teaching and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting
achievement. Assessments of teaching quality by the Quality Assurance
Agency place it in the top flight of UK universities; the National Student
Survey ranked Loughborough in the top five among full-time students; and
industry highlights the University in its top five for graduate recruitment.
Around 40% of Loughborough’s income is for research, and 60% for
teaching. The University has been awarded five Queen's Anniversary Prizes:
for its collaboration with aerospace and automotive companies such as
BAE Systems, Ford and Rolls Royce; for its work in developing countries;
for pioneering research in optical engineering; for its world-leading
role in sports research, education and development; and for its outstanding
work in evaluating and helping to develop social policy-related programmes.