12 July 2016
School of Law graduate wins place at Rio Olympics
Essex sports scholar Adeseye Ogunlewe has won a place at the Rio Olympics after winning the Nigerian 100m trials with a new personal best and Olympic qualifying time of 10.12 seconds.
Ade - who also graduated this week after completing a degree in Law and Politics at the School of Law - posted the time despite heavy rain having an impact on track conditions.
Speaking after his incredible success Ade said: “This a dream come true for me and my family it means everything to me. My goal as an athlete has always been to run at the Olympic Games so this is special to me.”
Now he is getting his head down for training ahead of the Games: “I just have to work really hard in the next few weeks and possibly do one or two more races before I head to the camp. I just want to go as far as possible and put in a good performance at the Games. That is my aim.”
He is full of praise for the support he has received: “The University has helped a lot. I can say without the team in the Human Performance Unit I wouldn't be where I am today.
“They have done a lot for me, for example, advice and support around nutrition, strength and conditioning plus general lifestyle.”
Ade highlighted the support from across the Human Performance Unit including Manager Chris McManus, Performance Sport Manager Susy Davies, Sport Performance Coach Justin Mills and sport scientist Kelly Murray plus Director of Sport Dr Dave Parry.
He said: “They have all helped me in various ways. Words cannot express my gratitude to them.”
Dr Parry, who oversees the sports scholarship programme, said: “Ade arrived at the University fairly new to athletics and ran 10.8 seconds in his first year.
“Since then we have supported him through our sports scholarship programme every year. This has included extensive support and advice plus performance testing. We’ve also provided financial support through the scholarship which has allowed him to, amongst other things, complete periods of warm weather training in Florida.
“His progress has been exceptional and to qualify for one of the premier events at the Olympic Games is a tremendous achievement.”
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