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Abbie Wood with her Bronze Medal after the Women’s 200m Individual Medley Final. Image provided by PA/Alamy.

Loughborough medal rush continues at the Commonwealth Games

Loughborough pair Abbie Wood and Sophie Capewell both added further Commonwealth medals to their collection on another impressive night of sport in Birmingham.

Cyclist Capewell continued her fine form on the track to secure a superb silver medal in the Women’s Keirin at Lee Valley VeloPark.

The 23-year-old followed up her bronze medal yesterday by going one better to take second place behind New Zealander Ellesse Andrews.

In the pool, alumna Abbie Wood clinched an impressive bronze in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley to record a mammoth fourth medal of the Games.

Wood, who has already claimed podium places in the Mixed 4x100m Relay (heats), Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay, and Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay, produced another strong swim to touch the wall in third behind Canada’s Summer McIntosh and New Zealand’s Kaylee McKeown.

sophie capewell

S‌ophie Capewell after winning silver in the Women's Keirin. Image provided by PA/Alamy.

In yet another medal for Loughborough, alumnus Joe Litchfield and Loughborough College learner Jacob Whittle formed part of Team England’s Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay team that won silver in the final race of the night.

Sophie Capewell said: “I am super proud of how I rode…every day has been getting harder and harder to bring yourself up for each race.

“Today I took it one race at a time, I am really happy with how I executed the final. I am a bit gutted I didn’t come round Ellesse [Andrews] at the end. I know what I need to do next time. I mean she is bloody fantastic. I am really proud of myself today.

“I think I have got better as it has gone on a little bit…I have a lot to come away and be proud of these championships. It has not been a bad first Commonwealth Games.”

Abbie Wood said: “I feel such a weight lifted off my shoulders. After the season I’ve had, I’m really happy with that and it’s a sigh of relief.

“I didn’t feel pressure from anyone intentionally, but I had my family here…it’s a season’s best, I couldn’t ask for any more after such a hard cycle post-Olympics. Fourth there hit me so to get it together for this week, I’m really happy.

“It was pretty much go-go-go after the Olympics so I’m definitely having a nice break after this, celebrating with my family.”

Earlier in the day, alumnus weightlifter Chris Murray added a gold to Loughborough’s medal tally by setting a new Commonwealth Games record in the Men’s 81kg category.

Loughborough’s dedicated 2022 Commonwealth Games website features all the latest news, videos, and medal tables from Birmingham.

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 22/151

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2022 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2022, and 10th in both the Guardian University League Table 2022 and the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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