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UEL puts in strong showing at Olympic test event

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Lumar Sylvester

(Photography: www.davidanthonyfearn.com)

UEL’s elite scholarship athlete, Lumar Sylvester, can now lay claim to doing something the world’s leading athletes have yet to do – to stand on the medal podium in London’s Olympic Stadium.

In what turned out to be a memorable weekend for UEL at the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Outdoor Athletics Championships, Computer Networks student, Lumar, scooped a bronze medal for his powerhouse performance in the men’s 200 metres final. Lumar, who won both his heat and semi-final, called on his trademark finishing speed to grab a thoroughly deserved third place in a time of 21.51 seconds at Monday’s final.

Speaking after the race, Lumar said: “One of my main aims was to get a medal, so I’m happy with this outcome. I found it to be a very good final, and I was pleased with how I performed once I got into my running. I really enjoyed the experience and competing in the Olympic Stadium. It gave me an insight into what it must be like to compete in the Olympics, and what the athletes have to go through.”

Following her convincing performances in the qualifying heats and semi-finals, UEL’s Kimbely Baptiste made it through to the finals of both the women’s 100 and 200 metres finals. In a fiercely competitive field, Kimbely finished sixth in the 100 metres final, which was won by current British record holder, Montell Douglas. Kimbley finished seventh in the 200 metres final.

In a cruel twist of fate, Law student, Zara Hohn, was ruled out of the women’s 100 metres final, despite finishing second in her semi-final. Zara, who is a three times BUCS gold medallist, hit a hurdle while leading in the race. The injury Zara sustained sadly meant she had to withdraw from the final.

It was also a weekend of mixed fortunes for Matthew Baptiste, who finished fifth in the men’s discus throw final. Unfortunately, Matthew had to withdraw from the men’s shot put final as a result of an injury picked up during the discus throw event.

Over the weekend, there were some other notable successes by UEL athletes in both track and field events. Tania-Cyrene Cyrus made the semi-final stages of both the 200 metres and 400 metres - recording three personal best times in the process, while there were personal bests for Thomas Grimes in the men’s 10,000 metres, Ben Salmon in the men’s 1,500 metres and Marvin Sinclair in the men’s triple jump.

David Cosford, Director of Sport at UEL, said: “This was a magnificent opportunity for our elite athletes to compete against universities’ top athletes, and to savour the wonderful experience of competing in the Olympic Stadium. I’m really proud of the team’s performance, and the sheer guts and determination they have shown over the course of the weekend. I have every confidence that we’ll come back even stronger next year, as we progress in our journey to become the number one university for sport in London by 2015.”

 

 

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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