Sky Academy Sports Scholarships Monthly Round-Up
Friday 16 May 2014 08:45, UK
With the Commonwealth Games approaching, there has been plenty for our Sports Scholars to celebrate in the past month.
For many the season is now in full swing and as such the events are coming thick and fast with some having the chance to claim major championship medals even before competition gets under way in Glasgow at the end of July.
Swimmer Siobhan-Marie O’Connor booked her place in the England team for the Commonwealth Games thanks to a hugely impressive performance at the British Championships in Glasgow. The 18-year-old from Bath won gold in the 200IM and 200m freestyle and took the silver in the 100m butterfly.
The Scholarships programme bids farewell to Jason Quigley at the end of this month following the Irishman’s decision to turn professional with the renowned Golden Boys Promotions. In his time as a Sports Scholar, Quigley became the first Irish boxer to reach an AIBA World Championships final as he won middleweight silver.
Garner wins Best British Rider at Women’s Tour
Lucy Garner continued her fine start to the 2014 season as she finished seventh in the inaugural Women’s Tour of Britain to claim the Best British Rider award. The youngster captained the Great Britain team, riding past her family home on the second stage and earning a podium finish in stage four.
ABA disappointment for Bateson
Flyweight boxer Jack Bateson was forced to settle for silver at the ABA National Championships at Liverpool’s Echo Arena. Bateson was eyeing his third ABA crown but having moved up a weight division, he came up against GB team-mate Charlie Edwards and narrowly lost out in a thrilling final.
With the European Championships at the end of May, we caught up with boxer Savannah Marshall and her new Sky Sports mentor Adam Smith to talk about their new partnership, Marshall’s recovery after shoulder surgery and her hopes ahead of a busy few months.
A big part of being an athlete at the highest level these days is travelling with competitions and training camps all over the world. It can be a bit of a hassle for anyone but when you need to take a pole vault pole with you wherever you go it can reach a whole new level, as Holly Bleasdale explains.
There are now less than 100 days to go until the Commonwealth Games begin and with a number of our Scholars set to compete we spoke to them about their hopes for the championships and Sam Oldham talked Game Changers through his training regime.
Scholar in profile – Sam Oldham
The London 2012 Olympic medallist had a difficult time at the World Championships back in the autumn as he battled on despite an injury picked up in the days before the event. However, now fully recovered and in good form so far in 2014, Oldham will hope to get amongst the medals at the European Championships this weekend.
