Team Bath quartet scoop athlete of the month award
Four Team Bath scholars have this week received public praise for their recent sporting endeavours, each scooping the prestigious athlete of the month award.
Judoka Prisca Awiti-Alcaraz, swimmer Anna Hopkin, badminton player Alex Lane and slider David Swift are the latest winners of the Team Bath athlete of the month awards.
The awards, which are supported by REVO Eyewear and Ellis & Killpartrick, once again showcased the outstanding calibre of sporting talent at the University of Bath.
Judoka Awiti-Alcaraz, a Sport Performance student supported by a King Scholarship, was one of two award winners for January after she claimed U21 -63kg gold at the Scottish Open. She also added bronze in the senior competition.
Coached by Juergen Klinger in the Sports Training Village dojo, Awiti-Alcaraz will be contesting European Cup competitions in Lithuania and Austria next month as she looks to qualify for September’s Junior European Championships in Spain.
British Skeleton athlete Swift was also recognised after registering the first win of his nine-year international career at the penultimate Europa Cup race of the season in St Moritz.
That long-awaited gold was followed by selection for the World Championships in Igls, where he improved throughout the four rounds to finish 16th overall. He begins training for the 2017 season next month.
Swimmer Hopkin, coached by Mark Skimming and Chris Alderton, has enjoyed an excellent season so far and won the February award after setting a new BUCS record of 25.17 as she won 50m freestyle gold at the BUCS Nationals.
The Sport & Exercise Science student also claimed 100m freestyle silver plus bronze in the 50m fly and women’s 4x100m medley relay to rank second out of all the female swimmers competing.
Hopkin impressed once again at last week’s British Swimming Championships as she won silver in the 50m freestyle, putting her in contention for GB selection for the European Championships in London. She will also represent the University in this weekend’s BUCS Team Championships in Sheffield.
The second athlete of the month for February is Sports Performance student Lane, who produced some of the best badminton of his career so far to reach the men’s singles final at the English National Championships. The Trendell Sports Scholar then won BUCS gold the following week.
Each of the winners receives a piece of REVO Eyewear from the Ellis & Killpartrick store in New Bond Street, Bath who also offer an exclusive REVO discount to Team Bath athletes, students, members and staff.
Tyron Dawkins, UK Brand Manager for REVO, said: “It was a great pleasure to meet such a talented group of Team Bath athletes who have once again raised the bar for this award.
“REVO, Menrad Optics UK, Ellis & Killpartrick Opticians and I wish them the best of luck with their sporting and academic endeavours for the rest of 2016.”