St Mary’s Athletes Selected for European Championships

Several athletes from the Endurance Performance and Coaching Centre (EPACC) at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham have been selected for the 2013 European Team Athletics Championships on 22^nd and 23^rd June in Gateshead. St Mary’s alumni Mo Farah (5,000m), Andrew Osagie (800m) and Rob Mullett (3000m Steeplechase) along with current student Charlie Grice (1500m) and EPACC runner Emelia Gorecka (5,000m) have all been selected to compete for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the championships. This is the first major athletics event in the UK since the London 2012 Olympic Games and will see more than 600 athletes from 12 countries compete in 20 different track and field events. St Mary’s EPACC Coach Craig Winrow commented, “We are delighted that five athletes associated with EPACC have been selected to represent Great Britain and Ireland in the Championships. It means that EPACC athletes represent half of the GB team for endurance events, which is a fantastic achievement. Best of luck to all five competing at the weekend.” St Mary’s has run an endurance programme since 2001, with London Marathon as the principle sponsor. EPACC was then formed in 2009 by Sport St Mary’s, again in partnership with the London Marathon, as an England Athletics Coach Development Centre. It provides a world-class endurance environment and several of Great Britain’s most talented distance runners work out of the centre, including Steph Twell, Andrew Osagie, Ross Murray, Charlotte Purdue, Andy Baddeley and Scott Overall.