Department of Engineering / News / Olympic medal success for Department

Department of Engineering

Olympic medal success for Department

Olympic medal success for Department

The team on a Royal Mail stamp

Rowers Tom James and George Nash helped Team GB bring in their largest Olympic medal haul for over 100 years at London 2012.

What a fantastic performance and a brilliant bronze.

Sir Steve Redgrave

Tom James MBE (Trinity Hall, 2002) repeated his success in Bejing four years ago by winning a second gold as part of the Men's Coxless Fours alongside Andrew Triggs Hodge, Peter Reed and Alex Gregory. A postbox in Tom's home town of Coedpoeth, Wrexham, has been painted gold in his honour and Royal Mail have issued a celebratory first class stamp featuring a photograph of the foursome. After the final, Tom commented: "I can't describe what this atmosphere is like. It's beyond words, it's epic, it's magic, it's emotional. The crowd is phenomenal. I'm so excited to be here and so proud."

George Nash (St Catharine's, 2008) earned himself a bronze medal in the Men's Pair with partner Will Satch, describing his Olympic experience as "awesome". The newly-paired duo stormed into third place less than half a second behind the French and were heartily congratulated by the winning New Zealanders. Sir Steve Redgrave, five-time Olympic champion and BBC Sport analyst, said: "What a fantastic performance and a brilliant bronze. That was one we didn't expect." Having taken a year out to concentrate on his rowing, George will now return to the Department of Engineering to complete his degree.

Of the other Engineering Department alumni who competed in the games, Julia Bleasdale (Pembroke, 2000) gained 8th place in the finals of both the Women's 5000m and 10,000m; cyclist Emma Pooley (Trinity Hall, 2001) was 6th in the finals of the Women's Road Time Trial; Andrew Baddeley (Caius, 2000) came 10th in his semi-final of the Men's 1500m; and American rower Jake Cornelius (Emmanuel, 2006) narrowly missed out on a bronze medal for the US team in the Men's Eight.

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