BUAC repeat record-breaking medal haul at BUCS XC Championships
Our UoB Cross-Country team has done it again, equalling our record medal haul from last year of 13 medals earned by 20 athletes, and earning 72 BUCS points in the process!
It’s been a big weekend for our cross-country team who headed down to Cardiff to compete in the highly-anticipated BUCS XC Championships.
With our eyes set firmly on the prize, we secured the same incredible levels of success seen at last year’s XC Championships in Pembrey, Wales.
The team fended off team pressures all on fronts from Oxford men, Cambridge women and the perennial Loughborough to come out on top in three of four of the individual titles, and being the only team to place Top in top two across every team contest.
The illustrious team double across both main races, came as close as it can, as the ladies lost out on countback after a tie with Cambridge.
A breakdown of our incredible medallists:
Women’s:
🥇Jess Bailey
🥈Poppy Tank
Team Silver 🥈
Men’s:
🥇Tomer Tarragano
🥉Ollie Smart
Team Gold 🥇
Women’s Short Race:
🥇Eleanor Strevens
🥈Alice Bates
🥉Hannah Blundy
Team Gold 🥇
Team Bronze 🥉
Men’s Short Race:
🥈Fin Ward
Team Silver 🥈
This fantastic level of success was made possible through the huge team effort across coaches and support staff, many of whom made the trip down to Cardiff to cheer on the team as they gave it their all on the field.
The team now look forward to BUCS indoors, training hard ready to compete in less than two weeks time.
We also saw our athletes competing further afield, in Boston and Belgium, with some notable results – including Tyler Bilyard who went to sixth on the UK all-time list over the Mile distance with a speedy 3.52 performance, also setting a new club record.
Boasting close to 300 members, with an active alumni community, Athletics & Cross Country is one of the biggest and most successful clubs on campus.
Community and Performance are intertwined; there is something for everyone when it comes to club experience, with different forms of training happening every day of the week to cater for event group and confidence level, and experienced coaching staff and practitioners available to tailor training programs to the individual needs of athletes.
Much of the training happens at the University’s own athletics track, as well as other locations near campus. Club membership will also give you access to multiple supplementary training sessions including drills, a weekly spin class and a circuit/conditioning session. The club also champions para-sport and welcomes students with disabilities.
Club members can compete multiple times across the year at any level. Whether this be in the local cross country league, university indoor/outdoor matches, or various national relay events. We also host athletics fixtures throughout the calendar including our popular Track & Field Series. The competition highlights of the year are the BUCS National Championships which take place indoors and outdoors for track & field, and over cross country.
There are several ways to get involved in the club, in addition to training and competing. Whether this be getting qualified as a coach or official, partaking in varied socials over the year or volunteering as part of one of our three student run committees, everyone’s experience is different. The club also runs several trips throughout the year, including both warm weather and altitude training camps.
Find out more about our Athletics and Cross Country team here at the University of Birmingham.
Photo creds: Tomfeatherstonephoto
