Team England’s Para powerlifters stole the early headlines on day seven as Zoe Newson and Olivia Broome both medalled in the Women’s Lightweight category in a Loughborough 1-2. To read the full report, see the below link:
The evening session continued to be fruitful for Loughborough with a further four medals claimed. In Alexander Stadium, Zac Shaw took silver in the Men’s T11/12 100m, Lawrence Okoye won a silver in the Men’s Discus, and over at the NEC, both Mark Swan and Micky Yule added further medals in Para powerlifting. To read the full report on another successful night, see the below link:
Back in athletics, Loughborough alumnus Jake Wightman returned to the track following his World Championships win in Orgeon to qualify for the Men’s 1500m final. Clocking 3:48.34, Wightman will head into Saturday’s final as one of the favourites for the title.
Jake will also be joined in the final by current student Matt Stonier who clocked an impressive 3:48.50 to take second in the same heat.
Loughborough duo Morgan Lake and Emily Borthwick will compete for medals in Saturday’s Women’s high jump final (10.17am). Both competitors recorded the required 1.81m with Lake saying, “I would love to add a medal to the Team England total as we have so many. That’s my main aim, just to jump as high as I can.”
In the Women’s 200m heats, alumnae Hannah Brier (Wales) and Beth Dobbin (Scotland) both eased through to Friday’s semi-finals. Brier clocked 24.04, Dobbin 23:10.
Staying on the track, alumna Jessie Knight qualified for the Women’s 400m Hurdles final after finishing third in her heat in 55.88.
In team sports, Loughborough athletes all performed well as medal opportunities begin to materialise.
Team England Women’s hockey team advanced to the semi-finals after a convincing 5-0 win over Wales. The victory, which featured six Loughborough-linked athletes for the hosts, ensured England will now play New Zealand in the last four on Friday evening (6pm).
The Men’s side, featuring alumni David Condon and Chris Griffiths alongside current student Stuart Rushmere, crushed Canada 11-2 in Pool B to set up a mouth-watering tie versus Australia in the semi-finals on Saturday evening (6pm).
England netball have also progressed to a huge semi-final against Australia after topping Pool B by beating New Zealand 54-44 in a pulsating tie. The match, taking place on Saturday, is a repeat of the 2018 Gold Coast gold medal contest in which England won 52-51.
In cricket, Alumna Amy Jones hit the winning runs as England easily chased down New Zealand’s 71 runs to win by six wickets. Sarah Glenn took two wickets as the hosts cruised to a semi-final showdown versus India.