University of Nottingham athlete named city's 'Disabled Sportsperson of the Year'

TGreenlist 
29 Nov 2011 16:10:34.767

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A season of world championships, gold medals and personal bests has culminated in one of the city’s university students being named Nottingham’s ‘Disabled Sportsperson of the Year’.

International club thrower and University of Nottingham mathematics student, Thomas Green, was presented with the City Council Award after a dream year which has seen him rise to fifth place in the world rankings.

Despite balancing his athletics career with a demanding degree, in the last 12 months Thomas — supported by the University’s sports bursary programme — has won the IWAS World Junior Championships in Dubai and the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Athletics Championships.

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This year has also seen him break into the senior Great Britain Disability Athletics Team, sealing a place at the IPC World Athletics Championships in New Zealand. Despite being one of the youngest competitors in his event, Thomas finished seventh overall in his first senior international event.

A personal best of 29.34 metres followed when Thomas beat his childhood hero and British number one Stephen Miller for the first time. His primary aim now is to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, but with progress quicker than expected and the support of Nottingham behind him, Thomas admits to having one eye on London 2012.

For now, Thomas is content to focus on his winter training, spurred on by picking up another accolade in a remarkable season. He is also keen to get more students involved in disability athletics and has been using his blog — http://thethomasgreenblog.wordpress.com — to get more people engaged with the sport at University.

After the awards, Thomas said: “It felt fantastic to win the award. It was great to be at an evening with so many talented sportspeople, and to actually be recognised with an award was very flattering.”

Hannah Webber, the University’s Disability Sports Office, continued: “As a University we feel truly privileged to have an athlete of Thomas’s ability studying and training with us. In the last two years, he has not only performed on the field, but also in the ‘classroom’ — demonstrating that he is a real all rounder with the potential to represent The University of Nottingham and his country at the ‘biggest show on earth’ next year in London.”

For more information about the Nottingham Sports Awards 2011, which recognise the effort and dedication of those involved in sport and a chance to say a big thank you for their contribution to life in the city, visit: http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=16747  

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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘Europe’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, a league table of the world’s most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions, which ranked Nottingham second in the world overall.

The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 40,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia. Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fund-raising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. For more details, visit: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/impactcampaign  

More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power.

The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.

More news from the University at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/news

Story credits

More information is available from Hannah Webber, Disability Sport Officer, The University of Nottingham at hannah.webber@nottingham.ac.uk
Harry Waddle

Harry Waddle - Students Communications Officer

Email: harry.waddle@nottingham.ac.uk Phone: +44 (0)115 823 2353 Location: University Park

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