Students
– past and present – from Northumbria University have Taken on Tokyo in
inimitable style, bringing home seven medals for their respective countries at
this year’s Paralympic Games.
The
biggest medal haul came courtesy of Taka Suzuki, who will study for his PhD at
Northumbria after completing a bachelor’s degree and Masters in Sport
Management at the University.
The
Japanese swimmer won an astonishing five medals on home soil, including a world-record
breaking gold, at this year’s Paralympics.
Taka
competed in five events at this year’s Games, winning medals in every final,
including gold in the Men’s 100m Freestyle, where he set a new Paralympic world
record. He also claimed two silver medals in the 50m and 200m Freestyle events
and two bronze medals in the 50m Breaststroke and 150m IM event.
Taka’s
swimming coach, Louise Graham, who is Head of Aquatics at Northumbria
University, says she is incredibly proud of the highly decorated athlete.
She
said: “Taka has shown resilience and determination throughout his preparation
and somehow managed to keep his composure under what must have been immense
pressure, to deliver a gold medal at his home Games in Tokyo.
“Since
the last Paralympics in Rio 2016 where he was disappointed to finish fourth and
come home without any medals, he has delivered five world championship medals,
graduated from both his undergraduate and postgraduate courses, signed up for
his PhD, and split his training between Tokyo and Newcastle; all while the
world has been rocked by a global pandemic.
“He
is an example to us all, that if you have a goal and you commit to it, you can
achieve unbelievable results.”
Great
Britain’s Ellen Buttrick, who completed her geography degree at Northumbria in
2017, also won gold at the Paralympic Games as part of Team GB’s Mixed Coxed
Four rowing team.
Claire Cashmore, who completed a Masters in Leadership and
Management at Northumbria, took bronze in the women's PTS5 triathlon. Claire won
a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke event at the Paralympic Games in
Rio 2016, but made the switch to triathlon in time for this year’s Games.
Northumbria
Sport Management graduate, Lyndon Longhorne, made his Paralympic debut in Tokyo
and set a new British record in the 200m Freestyle swimming heat, but missed
out on a medal finishing ninth overall.
The
previous month, Northumbria history graduate Bryony Pitman finished ninth in
both the Women’s Team and Women’s Individual Archery events at the Olympic
Games, in Tokyo.
Academics
within the University’s Department of Sport, Exercise &
Rehabilitation have also been working with Great Britain’s
Olympic athletes to support their pursuit of Olympic medal success at this
year’s Games in Tokyo. Their cutting-edge research helped implement new
effective, safe training practices and recovery strategies into the routines of
Team GB athletes.
Professor
Andrew Wathey CBE, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria
University, said: “At Northumbria we are immensely proud to have medal-winning
Paralympians as part of our student body and alumni.
“Taka
Suzuki’s phenomenal performances in the pool at Tokyo, resulting in five
Paralympic medals and a new world record, provide an inspiration for many and
will continue to be celebrated here at the University.
“As
well as excelling in competitive and elite sport, Northumbria has real and
developing strength in our sport-related research, in our degree programmes, in
our exceptional facilities, and in our work with partners.
“The
success of Taka Suzuki and our former students in Tokyo are testament to the
ambition and aspirations of the University as a whole.”
Northumbria
University celebrated success five years ago at the Paralympics in Rio, where
four Northumbria students brought home an impressive six medals from the Games.
