University of Nottingham post record gold medal tally at flagship university sport championships
University of Nottingham’s top student athletes have posted a record set of results at this weekend’s British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Championships, one of the flagship events on the university sport calendar.
Published 18 Feb 2025
James Harrison on his way to a fourth BUCS Karate title in the Men's Individual Kata
Nottingham’s Green and Gold won 17 national championships including 11 gold medals in the Karate championships alone, double gold for Deng Yaping scholar Zhou Meng in the badminton competition and a second 60m indoor hurdles win for track star Daniel Goriola.
Hosted in Sheffield, the championships include the individual university finals for six sports; athletics, fencing, karate, swimming, badminton and climbing. Over 4,300 students from across the UK competed during the 3-day event, which is one of the highlights of the university sport calendar.
University of Nottingham’s contingent of over 120 student athletes, supported by over our performance sport staff, Sports Injury Clinic team and performance nutrition partners RedBull and Vitasport, headed up the M1 with high hopes of yet another record championships and they certainly didn’t disappoint.
First off the blocks for the Green and Gold on the first day of competition, was sports scholar Daniel Goriola (LLB Law), looking to defend his indoor 60m hurdle title on the track at the English Institute of Sport. After cruising through the heats, Goriola had to work hard after a strong start from the whole field to ease past his competitors in style taking the race with a time of 7.81.
Daniel commented after the race:
The main thing for me this year was to win gold and get the job done, and I’ve achieved that so I’m proud of myself. This will kickstart my season now – I move onto the British Outdoor Championships next week and looking forward to getting back on the track
Daniel Goriola
Men's Indoor 60m Hurdles Champion
In the Karate competition, University of Nottingham dominated cementing their status as the number one university karate programme in the UK. The club took the Overall Team title for the fifth consecutive season, completing the clean sweep of the team events with golds in the Men’s and Women’s Team Kumite.
Sports scholar and England international James Harrison (MSci Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine) already a triple individual BUCS champion, cruised comfortably to his fourth individual Kata title and his England and University of Nottingham teammate Jessica Maitland (MA Special & Inclusive Education) took the Women’s Individual Kata trophy – her second time on top of the podium after victory in 2022.
Six more golds followed in the Individual Kumite from Jenna Cato (-55kg), Jess Wyman (-68kg), Kate Hambleton (+68kg), Tahlia Blake (-61kg), Ashton Patrick (-84kg), James Walker (-75kg). Combined with four silvers and seven bronzes across other categories, the weekend was the club’s best ever championship performance.
On the badminton court, University of Nottingham took full advantage of the return of the para-badminton event, with para-sports scholar Rob Donald (BSc Computer Science) and Finn Goode (BSc Biology) defeating University of Bristol in the Men’s Doubles final. First year student Zhou Meng won the Women’s Singles final, teaming up with Yiyi Tao to complete the double and add the Women’s Doubles gold. Both players, who are studying for MAs in Educational Leadership and Management) are supported by 4 times Olympic gold medallist and alumna Dr Deng Yaping through her bespoke scholarship offer for Chinese students competing at the top level of badminton and table tennis.
Finally, the University of Nottingham wrapped up the weekend by topping the results on the fencing piste. The Green and Gold fencers won more medals than any other institution, dominating the Épée event in particular where Florin Mirica (BEng Aerospace Engineering) and Rachael Lever (PhD Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies) won the Men’s and Women’s titles.
Rachael described how it felt to win her second title:
It feels absolutely amazing to win this year. My favourite moment was certainly the winning point – Nottingham know how to do a celebration. I love the community aspect – there’s always someone there for you, to talk to - it’s one big family!
Rachael Lever
Women's Épée Individual Champion
In other events, Etty Sisson narrowly missed the podium finishing in 4th in the Women’s 400m track event and Sophie Reading took 5th in the Individual Climbing event in an extremely competitive field. In the pool, the University of Nottingham team reached 11 finals, with freestylers Kasia Titterton and Amy Davies both posting two top ten finishes.
Alex Perry, Assistant Director of Sport (Performance), added:
We’re incredibly proud of all the students who represented the University of Nottingham this weekend. The hugely impressive results are a testament to their dedication to achieving their best and reflect their commitment through out the year, both on and off the field. I’d like to thank once again our performance partners RedBull, Vitasport as well as our official kit supplier PlayerLayer for their continued support for our elite sport programme. Working alongside our talented professional staff and physiotherapy team, they enabled us to deliver truly world-class support to our students competing
Alex Perry
Assistant Director of Sport (Performance)
For the full results of all the competitions at BUCS Nationals, please visit our dedicated BUCS Nationals page here or watch the action back here.
The Green and Gold now move into one of the busiest periods of the competitive university sport calendar as the 2024/25 season draws to a climax. Nottingham will be looking to add individual and team titles this month with the BUCS Canoe Slalom and Taekwondo competitions in Nottingham as well as the Track Cycling championships in Derby.
Follow all the action as it unfolds at uonsport.tv as well as University of Nottingham’s Instagram, Facebook and X channels.
Notes for editors
University of Nottingham are the top UK University for team sport, placing 2nd in the overall British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings in the 2023/24 season. For more information on our performance sport offer, including scholarships and support for student athletes, please click here.