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R - W: University of Birmingham Sport Scholars' Sports
Emily Carter (UBS Scholarship) Sport: Rowing
Course: History
Hometown: Stratford-upon-Avon
Achievements:
2005 Gold Inter-Regional Regatta
2006 Bronze National Championships
2007 Silver National Schools Regatta
Biggest disappointment in sport: GB Trials in November, not being able to produce.
Earliest Sporting Memory: Cross country running at a young age
Other Sports and Interests: Cycling, running
Sporting Heroes: Paula Radcliffe, Lance Armstrong, Alex Partridge
Non-sporting Heroes: My uncle
Biggest influence on your life: Dad
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Olympic rowing final
Favourite sporting motto: "Fail to prepare is preparing to fail"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Lance Armstrong - he is an incredible person who would be extremely inspiring
Favourite training session: Pyramid training on the water
Least favourite training session: Weights
Best part of being a high performance sports person: Pride in your achievements
Biggest frustration with sport: Injury
Favourite food: Risotto, salmon, steak and chocolate
Cassie Donovan (UBS Scholarship)
Sport: Rowing
Course: Business Management with Communications
Hometown: West Wickham
Achievements:
2009 Henley Regatta Finalists
2009 National Indoor Rowing Championship Bronze Medallist
Mark Jinks (UBS Scholarship)
Sport: Rowing
Course: Medicine
Hometown: Stourbridge
Achievements:
2009 Worcester Head Intermediate Quadruple Sculls Gold Medallist.
2009 Henley Regatta Men's Quadruple Sculls Semi-finalists.
2009 BUCS Regatte Lightweight Men's Quadruple Sculls Bronze Medallist
2009 BUCS Regatte Lightweight Men's Pairs Bronze Medallist
2009 BUCS Regatte Lightweight Men's Eight Bronze Medallist
2008 National Indoor Rowing Championships Fourth Place.
Laura Keates ( TASS Scholarship)
Sport: Rugby
Course: Zoology
Hometown: Hereford
Achievements:
Captained the Under 19 squad for 3 years
Winner Coleman Shield Trophy
Biggest disappointment in sport: Losing in the cup final with Worcester two years ago
Earliest Sporting Memory: Playing tennis at my local club
Other Sports and Interests: Hockey
Sporting Heroes: Johnny Wilkinson and Martin Jackson
Biggest influence on your life: Close friends and family
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Olympic opening ceremony
Favourite sporting motto: "If you think you are beaten... you are!"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Johnny Wilkinson, because he's amazing.
Favourite training session: Playing touch all session
Least favourite training session: Anything including fitness
Best part of being a high performance sports person: All of the stash!
Biggest frustration with sport: When you are injured
Favourite food: Chinese
Hannah Lewin (Physics Sport Bursary)
Sport: Rugby
Course:
Hometown:
Achievements:
Garnet Mackinder (TASS Scholarship)
Sport: Rugby
Course: Sport, Physical Education & Coaching Science
Hometown: Exeter
Achievements:
2009 England Under 20's Winners of the Nations Cup against USA, Canada and Wales.
Biggest disappointment in Sport: Not being selected for the first game against Wales last season.
Earliest Sporting Memory: In my first game of rugby setting up the winning try.
Other Sports and Interests: I used to do athletics, competed at English Schools Champs and UK School Games.
Sporting Heroes: Dan Carter, Kelly Holmes.
Non-sporting Heroes: My Mum.
Biggest influence on your life: My family supporting and encouraging me.
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: London 2012.
Favourite sporting motto: "Someday, somehow, i'm gonna make it alright, but not right now."
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Dan Carter - I could gain some rugby advice as he is a very talented player, and he also happens to be very good looking!!
Favourite training session: Offloading and rucking
Least favourite training session: 1 on 1 tackling
Best part of being a high performance sports person: The feeling you get when representing your country and making my family proud.
Biggest frustration with sport: Trying to keep myself motivated all the time.
Favourite food: Chocolate!
Aiden Oakley (TASS Scholarship)
Sport: Rugby League
Course: Sport and Exercise Science
Hometown: Bexleyheath, Kent
Achievements:
Winning 2007 MX9s Bowl
Representing Scotland under 18's
Voted in 2007 under 18s home nations dream team.
Biggest disappointment in sport: Losing to England in the 2007 home nations and finishing bottom
Earliest Sporting Memory: Scoring my first length of the field try
Other Sports and Interests: Running, swimming, gym and skiing
Sporting Heroes: Rob Burrow
Biggest influence on your life: My Dad
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Rugby World Cup Final
Favourite sporting motto: "Train hard, win easy"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Johnathon Ross, as it would be an interesting meal
Favourite training session: Contact work, gym work
Least favourite training session: Pure fitness (pre-season)
Best part of being a high performance sports person: The opportunities are endless and good banter with other sportsmen
Biggest frustration with sport: The under-development outside of Yorkshire
Favourite food: Chicken with pretty much anything
Anna McKenzie (UBS Scholarship)
Sport: Sailing
Course: Medicine
Hometown: Kendal
Achievements:
2007 Mirror World Champion and Pre-World Champion
2003 Ladies World Champion
2006 Nationals 2nd Place as crew
Biggest disappointment in sport: Coming 2nd at Nationals due to inexperienced sailors and interference
Earliest Sporting Memory: Tumble Tots
Other Sports and Interests: Dancing, hockey, swimming
Sporting Heroes: Shirley Robinson
Non-sporting Heroes: Robbie Williams
Biggest influence on your life: Sailing
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Sailing in 2012 Olympic Games
Favourite sporting motto: "Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Michael Palin - I think he would be very interesting and he'd have lots to talk about
Favourite training session: Full-on strong winds, intenses training, if it's sunny that is a bonus
Least favourite training session: Light winds, sailing around in circles
Best part of being a high performance sports person: Getting to meet loads of amazing competitors and traveling the world
Biggest frustration with sport: Hanging around in no wind
Favourite food: A big Sunday roast
Oliver Dixon (TASS Scholarship)
Sport: Squash
Course: Sport and Exercise Science
Hometown: Bishop's Stortford
Achievements:
Semi-finalist British Under 15 Championships
Ranked number 1 England Under 17's
Ranked number 8 England Under 19's
Biggest disappointment in sport: Losing in British Under 17 championships last 16
Earliest Sporting Memory: Winning Junior Club Championships (Stortford)
Other Sports and Interests: Hockey, drums, jazz, piano, cinema
Sporting Heroes: Roger Federer
Biggest influence on your life: My coaches
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Wimbledon Men's Singles Final
Favourite sporting motto: "give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Robert Webb -he's hilariously funny
Favourite training session: Choosing other people to do court sprints
Least favourite training session: Getting a ball whacked into my stomach (big big bruise!)
Best part of being a high performance sports person: Travelling and meeting people
Biggest frustration with sport: Losing in 5 sets and injuries
Favourite food: Pizza
Lotte Eriksen (UBS Scholarship)
Sport: Squash
Course: Sport and Exercise Science
Hometown: Stavanger, Norway
Achievements:
2009 BUCS Semi-finalist
Senior Norwegian Champion 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Biggest disappointment in sport: Squash did not make it into the Olympics in 2012
Earliest Sporting Memory: Winning a local football tournament
Other Sports and Interests: Football, badminton, running and mountain hiking
Sporting Heroes: Ole Gunnar Solskjier
Non-sporting Heroes: Kjell Kristian Rike (commentator)
Biggest influence on your life: Watching the Women's Norwegian National Handball Team compete in a Championship
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Winter and Summer Olympics
Favourite sporting motto: "Don't dream your dreams, live them"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Roger Federer - because he is an amazing tennis player and seems like a nice guy
Favourite training session: Pressure session, because it feels good once you have finished
Least favourite training session: Mobility and stretching
Best part of being a high performance sports person: Pushing yourself hard and competing at a high level
Biggest frustration with sport: It takes a lot of time
Favourite food: pasta
Joel Hinds (TASS Scholarship)
Sport: Squash
Course: EPSE
Hometown: Derby
Achievements:
4 times BUCS Team Champion
2009 British U23 Championships Runner-up
2009 BUCS Champion
2008 Represented Britain at World University Championship - Won team silver
2008 BUCS Championship Runner up
2006 Represented Britain at World University Championships - Won individual bronze and team gold Under19 European silver medallist
BSPA Boston Open winner
Earliest Sporting Memory: Playing football for primary school
Other Sports and Interests: Poker
Sporting Heroes: Muhammed Ali and Roger Federer
Biggest influence on your life: Family
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: World Series of Poker main event.
Favourite sporting motto: From my drunk great uncle: "Trust in the lord and hope for the best, you can't win them all, but bring them all."
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Ricky Gervais and Michael McIntyre
Favourite training session: Conditioned games
Least favourite training session: Any form of leg weights
Best part of being a high performance sports person: Winning events
Biggest frustration with sport: Takes up a lot of time
Favourite food: Fajitas
Sarra Wang (UBS Scholarship)
Sport: Table Tennis
Course: Medicine
Hometown: Braintree, Essex
Achievements:
2007 UK School Games Junior Girls Runner up
2007 English Junior Mixed Doubles Champion
2007 UK School Games Team Event Champion
Biggest disappointment in sport: Losing self confidence when I go through a bad patch
Earliest Sporting Memory: My mum bought me a table tennis table for my 7th birthday
Other Sports and Interests: Mostly running, hockey, tennis and badminton
Sporting Heroes: Denise Lewis and Sir Steve Redgrave
Non-Sporting Heroes: Sandra Bullock, my parents
Biggest influence on your life: My mum I would be nowhere without her
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Gymnastics
Favourite sporting motto: "If you can't accept losing, you can't win"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? J.K Rowling - she is my favourite author
Favourite training session: Any training session where I play well.
Least favourite training session: When I don't play well
Best part of being a high performance sports person: It gives me confidence
Biggest frustration with sport: The bad days out number the good days
Favourite food: I love all food
Helen Scott (UBS Scholarship)
Sport: Track Cycling
Course: Sport, Physical Education and Community Studies
Hometown: Halesowen, Birmingham
Achievements:
2009 Copenhagen World Cup 4th Place in the team sprint
2009 Copenhagen World Cup 12th Place in the Keirin
2008 National Junior Track Championships sprint silver medallist 500m TT
2008 National Senior Track Championships sprint bronze medallist 500m TT
Biggest disappointment in sport: Not being selected for the European Under 23 Championships this year.
Earliest Sporting Memory: Racing for mars bars in our club's Friday night tack league.
Other Sports and Interests: Football, athletics, shopping reading, music, movies and partying
Sporting Heroes: Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Dame Kelly Holmes
Non-Sporting Heroes: My Family
Biggest influence on your life: My team-mates, and my love for the sport
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Olympic Games athletics and cycling
Favourite sporting motto: "If not now, when? If not you, who?"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Usain Bolt- coolest, most calm, fastest man on the planet
Favourite training session: Accelerations- power based!
Least favourite training session: Rolling 500m reps - gruelling!
Best part of being a high performance sports person: Training with my sporting heroes, being motivated by them to go harder, faster.
Biggest frustration with sport: Life isn't fair... big efforts sometimes only lead to small gains
Favourite food: Chocolate, chinese and curry
Victoria Graves (TASS Scholarship)
Sport: Triathlon
Course: Geography
Hometown: York
Achievements:
2008 BUCS Duathlon Champion. Team Gold
2008 3rd Place Duathlon Championships
2008 29th European Triathlon Championships
2007 Winner European Youth Triathlon Relay
Biggest disappointment in sport: Crashing at European Junior Triathlon Championships
Earliest Sporting Memory: Cross country running
Other Sports and Interests: Climbing and walking
Sporting Heroes: Kelly Holmes
Biggest influence on your life: My brother
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Olympics
Favourite sporting motto: "Work hard, play harder"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Paula Radcliffe - to find out about her background
Favourite training session: Off road running
Least favourite training session: Swim test set
Best part of being a high performance sports person: You get to meet lost of people
Biggest frustration with sport: When it doesn't go right
Favourite food: Roast dinner
Ciara Horne (Paul Weston Triathlon Scholarship)
Sport: Triathlon
Course: Physiotherapy
Hometown: Kenilworth
Achievements:
8th Place ETU Salford Triathlon
1st Birmingham Triathlon- World age group qualifier
National qualification times in swimming
Biggest disappointment in sport: Shoulder surgery resulting in poor performances in swimming in 2005/2006
Earliest Sporting Memory: I have two... Being terrified of jumping in the deep end at swimming lessons, and refusing to do so, and my brother pushing me in! That day, the swim squad came in after lessons had finished, and I watched them doing their training and in particular their ‘tumble turns’ and thought ‘wow, I want to be able to do that!’ And my second memory- Winning my first swimming medal at an inter-school competition!
Other Sports and Interests: Swimming, Athletics, Cycling, Rowing, Rugby.
Sporting Heroes: Kelly Holmes, Natalie Du Toit, Paula Radcliffe, Michael Phelps, Michael Johnson.
Non-sporting Heroes: My parents and Emily Carter
Biggest influence on your life: My dad and coach.
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Phelps and Thorpe- both at their peaks- 200m Freestyle final- Olympic games. Would be nice to have seen that in 2004 but it was just too early for Phelps... 2008 would have been very interesting, but unfortunately Thorpe retired before it.
Favourite sporting motto: "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Michael Phelps. Because his attitude is amazing. And Ryan Lochte, for very obvious reasons
Favourite training session: Swim- I love 10x100m flat out. Or 7x200m step test. Or any hill sessions on the bike!
Least favourite training session: Hill Sessions
Best part of being a high performance sports person: The support team around you. They are fantastic and always back you 100%. And obviously, the feeling of being an elite athlete.
Biggest frustration with sport: Injury
Favourite food: I should probably say something healthy... But my favourite food would be my Mums Sunday roast or her Chicken tikka! Yummm!
Joseph Mason (UBS Scholarship)
Sport: Triathlon
Course: Sports and Materials Science
Hometown: Horsham
Achievements:
2008 BUCS Duathlon Bronze
Qualifying for 2 World Age Group Championships
Earliest Sporting Memory: Primary School Sports Day Cross Country
Other Sports and Interests: Skiing, cycling
Sporting Heroes: Michael Phelps, Lance Armstrong, Haile Gebrselassie
Non-sporting Heroes: Stanley "Tookie" Williams, Richard Branson
Biggest influence on your life: Myself
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: London 2012 Olympic Games, (velodrome, pool or track)
Favourite sporting motto: "I can!"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Lance Armstrong - because even after reading his books I still want to know more
Favourite training session: Cycling in the French Alps
Least favourite training session: Morning swims
Best part of being a high performance sports person: The pleasure of racing when you are doing well
Biggest frustration with sport: Time commitment especially over summer, when I'd like to do lots of travelling
Favourite food: Sunday roast / spaghetti bolognese
Rebecca Milnes (UBS Scholarship)
Sport: Triathlon
Course: Sport, Physical Eductaion and Coaching Sciences
Hometown: Epworth
Achievements:
European Junior Triathlon Championships
World Age Group Champion
National relay Champion
Biggest disappointment in Sport: Not being able to race the first half of the 2009 season due to injury
Earliest Sporting Memory: Winning the Sporting Cup at primary school
Other Sports and Interests: Coaching, swimming, cycling and netball
Sporting Heroes: Lance Armstrong and Paula Radcliffe
Non-sporting Heroes: Paul (the person who introduced me to triathlon)
Biggest influence on your life: My coach
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Sahara desert marathon
Favourite sporting motto: "As long as the effort is there!"
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Gordon Brown, so I could ask him why he doesn't give more money to Sport.
Favourite training session: Test sets ( when I'm feeling good)
Least favourite training session: Test sets (when I'm feeling tried)
Best part of being a high performance sports person: Training and meeting new people
Biggest frustration with sport: Seeing people with so much talent who aren't prepared to use it
Favourite food: Flapjacks
Non Stanford (TASS Scholarship)
Sport: Triathlon
Course: Sport and Exercise Science
Hometown: Swansea
Achievements:
2009 BUCS Sprint Triathlon Bronze medal
2009 BUCS Biathlon Champion
Athletics: UK Under 17 3000m record
European Youth Olympic Festival 2005 Lignano, Italy.
Welsh 1500m record holder for u15, u17, u20 and u23 age groups
Biggest disappointment in sport: Missing out on a spot on the 2007 World Cross team by 2 seconds
Earliest Sporting Memory: Competing as an under 8 in a gymnastics competition
Other Sports and Interests: Originally from a swimming and then running background I still enjoy competing and following both. I love watching international rugby and am a big welsh rugby union fan.
Sporting Heroes: Kelly Holmes, Haile Gebreselassie, Steve Redgrave
Biggest influence on your life: Definitely my mum. She's always supported me in everything that I've aspired to and was the one who initially encouraged me into sport.
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Olympic Athletics - there is something about the Olympics that is different from any other event. I would love to see a 1500m or 5000m final. It would be so exciting. I would also love to go to an England vs Wales rugby international at the Millennium stadium, Cardiff . The atmosphere is always amazing when these two teams meet.
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Honestly, probably my family and close friends - since being at university I appreciate them so much more and miss spending time with them. To have everyone around a table having a good time would be perfect.
Favourite training session: 10km based track sessions.
Least favourite training session: Long rides or outdoor velodrome sessions
Best part of being a high performance sports person: Travelling to places I otherwise may not get the chance to visit, meeting some amazing and inspiring individuals and the sense of achievement felt when all the hard work finally pays off.
Biggest frustration with sport: The lack of recognition of some athletes from less media focused sports. Many amazing achievement go unnoticed and uncelebrated by the general public because they're not footballers or rugby players.
Favourite food: I love Italian food and definitely have a weakness for chocolate.
Oliver Ziff (UBS Scholarship)
Sport: Triathlon
Course: Medicine
Hometown: Leeds
Achievements:
2nd Place at World Championships
Represented GB in European elite triathlon cups,
My first ever medal from an Inter schools race.
Biggest disappointment in sport: Crashing on the bike leg of the national triathlon champs 08,
Earliest Sporting Memory: Racing school cross country at age 6 and gutted to finish 2nd place!
Sporting Heroes: Mathew Pincent, Haile Gebrselassie and Roger Hackney ( birmingham medic and competed at steeple at the olympics!)
Other Sports and Interests: Travel the world, Cross Country skiing, movies
Non-sporting Heroes: Michael Crichton, Gok Wan,
Biggest influence on your life: My parents
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Olympic Women's Beach Volleyball
Favourite sporting motto: "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." Vince Lombardi
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? My late grandfather, he built an incredible business from scratch through hard graft and persistence and an amazing character - I have a few questions for him!
Favourite training session: Chain gang in Leeds - 1 hour cycle of purely "maxing it out"
Least favourite training session: I detest long reps in the pool, something like 10 x 400 in a 25m pool!
Best part of being a high performance sports person: To travel the world, and very rarely get bored.
Biggest frustration with sport: A few more hours in the day would be nice, to fit everything in.
Favourite food: Fallafel in pitta!
Victoria Hawkins (UBS Scholarship)
Sport: WaterPolo
Course: Chemical Engineering
Hometown: Halesowen
Achievements:
2009 Member of BUCS Championship winning side
2007 Second Place European WaterPolo Championship
2007 Fouth Place Southern Cross WaterPolo Championships
2007 Six Nations WaterPolo, Portugal
Earliest Sporting Memory: Playing in the Under 16 Knockout final for my club
Other Sports and Interests: Climbing, athletics and swimming
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: WaterPolo at the Olympic Games
Favourite sporting motto: "You miss 100% of the shots you never take" Wayne Gretzky
Favourite training session: Ball handling and shooting
Least favourite training session: Swimming and drills
Best part of being a high performance sports person: Competing at a high level
Favourite food: Roast Dinner