The sixth edition of the European University Games begins in Lodz, Poland soon and here are five British athletes to look out for.
Around 5000 students from over 40 countries will be competing in the biggest multisports academic event in Europe. From Britain, 198 athletes from 51 universities will be going for gold in 13 different sports.
This will mark the largest ever British delegation to a Games. 23 medals were won by British athletes at the last edition, held in 2018 in Coimbra, Portugal.
There will be optimism that this tally will be bettered in Lodz, with the featured athletes hoping to travel back with a gold medal around their neck.
Archie Platt
Judo, Imperial College London
Platt will be heading to Lodz on the back of a successful 2022 to this point. The Imperial student earned gold at the British University Judo Championship earlier in the year, improving on the silver he won in 2020.
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He has also demonstrated his talent at the British Championships, progressing from third in 2019 to second in late 2021. Evidently one of the hottest Judo talents in Great Britain, Platt will be hoping to earn his second international title at the European University Games. Aged just 18, he came first at the Welsh Senior Open in Cardiff.
Jessica Maitland
Karate, University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham will be the institution boasting the most athletes in Lodz, with 35 students making the trip.
Jessica Maitland, a psychology student, will be one of those competing from the Green and Gold. Originally taking up ballet, she admitted to the University of Nottingham that ‘she changed to karate because it looked cooler.‘
2022 has been quite the year so far; she won gold at both the British and BUCS Championships. Maitland is certainly no stranger to the international stage. She represented England at the World Championships in 2019.
John Torjussen
Badminton, University of Nottingham
It could be argued that no one has earned their place on the plane to Poland more so than Torjussen. He has dominated BUCS men’s singles badminton at the last two individual championships.
He left the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield with the gold medal around his neck in both 2020 and 2022. Although his first European University Games; he competed in the 2019 European University Badminton Championships.
He was unable to secure gold, falling in the semi-final. With his newfound taste for success, he will settle for nothing but the top step in Lodz.
Isra Ilyas
Taekwondo, University of Southampton
Holding the role of Club President, Ilyas has certainly led by example throughout the year. She earned the gold medal at two of the three BUCS Taekwondo Championships throughout the 2022/23 academic year.
No stranger to success, she will hope to improve on her previous outing at a European University Competition. The student-athlete was knocked out in the quarter-finals at the 2019 European University Combat Championships. With the added experience of three years, there’s no doubting she will give her all in Poland.
Shae Thakker
Para Table Tennis, University of Sheffield
In 2016, Thakker wrote that it was his ‘long term goal to become an Olympian.‘ Although he has not yet reached the Olympics, he does have a table tennis career to be proud of.
As well as representing his country at the European University Games, he earned a bronze in the doubles at the SQY French Open in late 2021. Competing at the BUCS 2021 Individual Championships, he made it through his group, eventually losing in the Round of 32.
He, alongside Joseph Crouse and Ryan Henry, will be making history at the Games as Britain’s first para-athletes.