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Olympic stars return to Bristol for sporting celebration

Georgie Twigg in action

Georgie Twigg in action

Hurdler Lawrence Clarke

Hurdler Lawrence Clarke

Press release issued: 21 September 2012

Sporting greats, helped on the road to success by the University of Bristol, will be returning to the city for a star-studded celebration. BBC Sports presenter John Inverdale will host an evening which welcomes back past students who have gone onto achieve success in the world of sport.

BBC Sports presenter John Inverdale will host an evening which welcomes back past students who have gone onto achieve success in the world of sport.

Big names include Great Britain hockey player Georgie Twigg, who won a bronze medal in the women’s hockey at the London 2012 Olympics, and 110m hurdler Lawrence Clarke who won plaudits around the world for his impressive fourth place finish.

Fellow Olympian and gold medallist Laura Bechtolsheimer, plus rugby legends Josh Lewsey and Kyran Bracken, are also among the invitees as the University welcomes back people who have received a Bristol Red – an honour bestowed on Bristol students who have shown exceptional performance in their respective sports and members of its High Performance Squad.

The dinner and dance, being held at the Bristol Marriott Hotel on 3 November, will celebrate 25 years since the introduction of the High Performance Squad, which supports elite student athletes to fulfill their academic and sporting potential.

Simon Hinks, Director of Sport at Bristol University, said: “Bristol has produced some great sporting stars over the years and the evening will be the perfect opportunity to celebrate their success and the role Bristol University has played in this.

“John Inverdale will be interviewing our Olympians and I’m sure we’ll all be enthralled by their tales from London 2012. It’ll be especially nice for our current High Performance Squad members, some of whom we hope might be competing in Rio 2016, to hear about such inspirational experiences.”

The Centre for Sport Exercise and Health is still trying to track down some of its 373 Bristol Red recipients and would like to hear from you if you were awarded one from 1979 onwards. For further details, please see the Alumni website.

Further information

Please contact Jenny Green for further information.
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