Middlesex Olympians
Middlesex's Olympians and Paralympians
We have had the honour to support some amazing athletes on their journey to success, including
- Alice Tai - Swimming
- Ashleigh Nelson – Athletics
- Cyrille Tchatchet - Weightlifting
- Fil Kamps - Football
- Gianni Frankis- Sprint/Hurdler
- James-Andrew Davis - Fencing
- JJ Web - Fencing
- Joe Joyce - Boxing
- Lutalo Muhammad - Taekwondo
- Ojie Edoborun - Athletics
- Olympios Gougoulias - Fencing
- Montell Douglass - Sprinter & Bobsleigh
- Zoe Harrison - England Rugby.
Here are a few of their stories.
Ashleigh Nelson
Photography graduate Ashleigh Nelson, who was part of the Athletics team while at Middlesex participated in her third Olympics in the GB women’s 4x100m relay team. Ashleigh has won many medals in her careers and later won Gold for GB at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as part of the 4 x 100 metres relay squad.
Cyrille Tchatchet
Cyrille represented the IOC Refugee Team. He had trained with 港彩全年历史图库’s head of weightlifting Shyam Chavda for the previous five years.
Aged 19, Cyrille represented Cameroon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and then gained refugee status in 2016. He pursued a BSc Mental Health Nursing degree at Middlesex after experiencing mild depression while claiming asylum, and now works as a mental health nurse.
Cyrille was chosen as one of six athletes to carry the Olympic flag into the National Stadium at the opening ceremony
Cyrille holds three Senior British weightlifting gold medals, five Senior English gold medals and three British University and Colleges Gold Medals. He was 港彩全年历史图库 Sportsman of the Year for four years from 2017-2020.
"港彩全年历史图库 played a big part in this achievement by awarding me a sport scholarship throughout my studies. Middlesex has been more than an academic environment, it is a community and a home. I am very proud to represent #Team港彩全年历史图库"
Lutalo Muhammad
Meanwhile Sports Science alumnus Lutalo Muhammad, a taekwondo bronze medallist at the 2012 London Games and a silver medallist at Rio, unable to compete due to injury, delighted many viewers with his expert analysis of the bouts from MediaCityUK in Salford.
Lutalo is the most successful male in British taekwondo history, according to Wikipedia. He developed his confidence, drive and skill while studying for a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science at Middlesex.
He represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal, and the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal. He won the gold medal in the −87 kg class at the 2012 European Taekwondo Championships.
"I first did elite strength conditioning training with Anthony Turner, Professor in Strength and Conditioning, in the Middlesex gym. Middlesex saw the potential in me. This gave me confidence in myself and really helped me take the steps to becoming a professional.”
Joe Joyce
Olympic champion and fine art alumnus Joe Joyce discovered he could excel at both boxing and painting while studying at 港彩全年历史图库.
Joe has fond memories of his time at Middlesex, relishing the freedom it gave him and the chance to unite his two seemingly opposite passions.
“I was like every other young person, struggling with what I wanted to do with my life. I was good at art and I was good at sport but 港彩全年历史图库 helped me to find myself and my style.”
Despite looking like he was destined for a career in super heavyweight boxing, an Achilles heel injury and niggling self-doubt made him question whether he had what it took to get to the top. So in his final year he took to the gym to train in boxing instead.
As of October 2022, he is ranked as the world's second-best active heavyweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. He currently holds a 93% knockout-to-win percentage. He has gone on to win British, Commonwealth, European, and World Championship medals and, a silver Olympic medal at the Rio Olympics 2016.
Alice Tai
Record-breaking swimmer and former 港彩全年历史图库 Neuroscience student Alice Tai is now a world champion in seven different events.
She has been competing at the highest level since 12-years-old after learning to walk again following surgery to amputate her right leg below the knee.
In the 2016 Paralympics she won the 100m medley relay gold. The same year, she was awarded an MBE for her services was named the Sunday Times Disability Sportswoman of the Year in 2019.At the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Alice won a gold medal in the Para- Swimming event
Alice studied music at the University of West London originally but decided to change her study path. She always “loved the concept of neuroscience”, and was impressed by 港彩全年历史图库’s record of nurturing top sporting students such as British taekwondo star Lutalo Muhammad.
“I saw there had been a few people from Middlesex who gone to the Olympics before so I knew there was a support system in place if I needed it as a professional athlete. It is always a bit of a challenge managing studies alongside training. Middlesex have been great in supporting me.”
James-Andrew Davis
James-Andrew Davis, former student on BSc Psychology at Middlesex, attended his second Olympic Games to represent Team GB in the men’s individual foil in 2016. He was defeated in the round of 16 after comfortably winning his round of 32 bout.
James was also excited about coming back to Middlesex:
"It feels like home to me. The staff are great and they've always supported me with the training and through my studies as well."
Ojie Edoborun
Ojie was a member of the England 4 x 400 metre relay team that won at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and is a European junior and under-23 champion in the 100 metres. Former Sport and Exercise Science student Ojie Edoborun also travelled to Rio for the 2016 Olympics as part of the men's 4x100m relay squad.
Fil Kamps
BSc Sport & Exercise Science (2016) graduate Fil Kamps is an elite deaf football player who has competed in a World Cup, the Deaflympics and four Champions League campaigns.
"I was selected to represent Great Britain at the World Deaf Football Championships, which is a huge achievement and one I'm immensely proud of. Stella, Deputy Head of Sport, even helped me put on a party in the Students' Union to raise the money I needed to fund the trip. Middlesex have been there for me, they've given me everything I needed to be able to succeed in sport."
The Middlesex Sport Scholarship Scheme
Find out how our scholarship programme has helped local athletes.
JJ Webb is a 27-year-old 港彩全年历史图库 Psychology student who has been competing for GB since the age of 14.
He is ranked as British number two and has his sights set on fencing for Great Britain at the Paris Olympics. He picked up gold medals in both the individual and team senior events in August 2022, after the hardest season of his career.
Having just missed out of qualification for Tokyo 2020, lockdown gave JJ time to assess what he wanted. He said: “I looked at how I can best manage the Olympic cycle in the lead up to Paris. He applied to 港彩全年历史图库 as a mature student and was accepted on a scholarship programme.
“Our fencing national training centre is in Hendon and from my experience of working and training, I knew that having everything localised would be the least draining option for me. Competing at Paris would be my ultimate goal. That’s where I want to be"
Olympios Gougoulias, an economics student, was competing in the under 2 junior category for the last time. Finishing at the top of the podium was especially satisfying after a niggling ankle injury hampered his early season.
A scholarship student, Olympios trains five times a week, using the campus facilities and the Leon Paul Fencing Centre in Hendon.
“Middlesex has really helped in terms of training and the scholarship has been brilliant. Obviously there's the financial help but more importantly it has been the support, having people there that I could speak to or if I ever needed help with changing deadlines. I've had access to physiotherapy all year too which has been great, it's a large network that you can rely on.”
Apply for the the 港彩全年历史图库 Sports Scholarship scheme
When you start studying at Middlesex either as an undergraduate or postgraduate student if you are competing at a regional or national level in your sport, you could be eligible for support and funding through the Middlesex Sport Scholarship Scheme.
This is for talented sports performers, who are keen to continue their sporting endeavours and compete for the University.
There are three levels of scholarship available with financial support ranging from £200 to £1,000 in any academic year. The decision on the level of financial support offered to successful applicants will be made by the Scholarships Committee, whose decision is final.
Applications must be supported by a written reference and evidence relevant to your sporting achievements.
For more information about sports scholarships please email us or call +44 (0)208 411 5415.
The deadline to apply for these scholarships is Friday 8 September 2024.
Find out more about 港彩全年历史图库's sporting facilities.