BNU’s rising athletics star Marli Jessop takes home brilliant bronze at BUCS Athletics Championships
Students from around the country gathered in Chelmsford, Essex this weekend for the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Outdoor Athletics Championships 2021-22.
Taking place over the bank holiday weekend, the event saw student athletes from across the UK compete in 85 events, all with the hope of taking home a medal.
Talented athlete and BNU Fine Art student Marli Jessop, 18, went on to place in the 100m hurdles, winning a coveted bronze medal.
Marli’s win comes after an already successful start to the year, which saw her become South of England champion for 60m hurdles and come second in the U20 Nationals.
Impressively, earlier this year Marli also became the BUCS champion for 60m hurdles with a winning time of 8.28, which at the time made her fifth in the world, fourth in Europe and sixth in the all-time fastest British U20 60m hurdlers, higher than both Jessica Ennis and Sally Gunnel while in the U20 age bracket.
Marli trains with Strength & Conditioning Coach and Associate Lecturer at BNU, Chris Gallagher, as part of the University’s Dual Career Policy which helps student athletes combine their studies and sport. Student athletes also benefit from sports science and medicine support including physiotherapy, nutrition and psychology.
Marli said: “This year I have trained harder than I ever have before. I wake up at 7am and have four track sessions a week before my lectures with my England athletics coach, then I train in the gym the other two days with my strength and conditioning coach Chris.
“Since I started working with Chris, I have progressed dramatically, and our work together is helping me reach my true potential more than I could have hoped.”
On hopes for the future, Marli said: “I’m looking ahead to Nationals in July and I will hopefully get selected for the U20 World Championships in Colombia in August. The big dream, like most athletes, is to make it to the Olympic Games, which I believe I’m on track to achieve.
“I feel really proud when I’m wearing that vest and representing the University. I feel like I’m putting BNU on the map.”
We are really proud of Marli and her achievements this year. This is a great example of how BNU can cater for the needs of student athletes and help them in a small way to achieve their goals. Marli is one of several athletes all performing well on the national and international stage and we are delighted to support them in any way we can.Dr Mark Homer Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology
