Latest news from Loughborough University
| 7 July 2008 | PR 08/103 |
Loughborough University Sports Scholars invited onto British Olympic programme
Three Loughborough University sports scholars are to be given a invaluable
insight into the Olympic Games in Beijing as part of Britain’s Olympic
Ambition 2012 programme.
Swimmer Daniel Fogg, hockey player Adam Harper and slalom canoeist Elizabeth
Neave are amongst the country’s most promising young athletes invited
onto the British Olympic Association (BOA) programme. Olympic Ambition
2012 is designed to enhance athlete medal success at the London 2012 Olympic
Games by providing talented potential team members with an opportunity
to experience the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
The trio are amongst athletes from 33 Olympic disciplines set to spend
seven days in Macau and Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games, where they
will visit the Team GB preparation camp, the Olympic Village and the Athletes’
Lodge. They will also have a press conference fronted by their mentors;
Olympians like Denise Lewis, Ed Coode and Alison Mowbray. In addition
participants will be given the opportunity to watch two competition sessions
for their specific discipline.
The programme’s focus is based around providing sports specific
event exposure and to replicate, as closely as possible, an athlete’s
overall Olympic experience.
Team GB Chef de Mission for the Beijing Games Simon Clegg believes Olympic
experience is a key ingredient to achieving success at the Games.
“This programme is unique worldwide and is expected to provide
a real competitive edge to the participants,” he said. “With
the BOA’s aspirational target to finish fourth in the overall medal
table in 2012, and research showing that a significantly high percentage
of medallists at any Olympic Games have attended previous Olympic Games,
this experience can form a vital part of the athletes preparation for
Olympic success”.
-ENDS-
For all media enquiries contact:
- Amanda Overend, Sport PR Officer, Loughborough University,
T: 01509 228686, E: A.J.Overend@lboro.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
- Loughborough is one of the country’s leading
universities, with an international reputation for excellence in teaching
and research, strong links with industry and unrivalled sporting achievement.
It is a member of the esteemed 1994 Group – a set of internationally recognised, research intensive universities – and has a reputation for the relevance of its work. Its degree programmes are highly regarded by professional institutions and businesses, and its graduates are consistently targeted by the UK’s top recruiters.
Loughborough is also the UK’s premier university for sport. It has perhaps the best integrated sports development environment in the world and is home to some of the country’s leading coaches, sports scientists and support staff. It also has the country’s largest concentration of world-class training facilities across a wide range of sports.
In the 2007 National Student Survey, the University was voted fourth in the UK, with 23 out of 29 of Loughborough’s subject areas being ranked in the top ten for overall satisfaction. Loughborough is also ranked in the top fifteen of UK universities in national league tables. It was named winner of the 2006 and 2007 Times Higher award for the UK’s Best Student Experience and winner of the 2007 award for Outstanding Support for Overseas Students. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, the University has been awarded six Queen's Anniversary Prizes – an achievement bettered by no other university.