UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON
Established:
Colour(s): Blue and black
With a picturesque part of London’s docklands in the backdrop and planes taking off from City Airport just across the water, the University of London has plenty of sights to look out for. In terms of athletics, sprinting talents are often what makes the university stand out, so will the team be flying to dizzying heights come this weekends BUCS Nationals? Captains SJ Chinery-Edoo and Rochelle Jones have brought their best fighting talk to the table…
Tell us about your uni and why it is the best one to compete for?
SJ: We’ve always had a strong athletics team at UEL, boasting the likes of Adam Gemili, Bianca Williams and we’ve won quite a few medals at BUCS, which makes us one of the best track and field unis in the country, I’d say.
Rochelle: And we’re right next to the Olympic Park!
What’s your best memory of competing in BUCS?
SJ: Just the bredth of events I’ve been meant to do and the amount of people that I’ve got to meet through BUCS and have stayed connected with. That’s helped me with regards to training and competing.
Rochelle: My best memory is being a bronze medallist in 2011, the crowd was phenomenal, I love competing at BUCS and that’s the energy you need to perform well.
Who is the funniest or loudest member of your team?
Rochelle: I’d say SJ here. (Laughs) He has great energy, you do need that in a team. He has good vibes, good banter, he’s never annoying.
SJ: Thankfully!
Which athletes in your team should we keep an eye out for?
SJ: We’ve got a pretty strong team this year. Emmanuel Sosanya – his name goes under the radar a lot – he’s a 400m runner. He’s already won the South of England indoor championships as well, he’s only just come out of the junior ranks and is quite strong. If he doesn’t get a medal then we’re leaving him in Sheffield.
“I think we are the best athletics team in London” – @UELAthletics
What do you reckon @AthleticsBrunel @TeamBrunel?
Captains SJ & Rochelle have been chatting ahead of #BUCSNationals Indoors Athletics Championships: pic.twitter.com/vUsbSAm8fN
— Vinco (@VincoSport) February 14, 2018
We have a couple of triple jumpers as well, someone called Rochelle, she’s meant to be alright! Also a girl called Eavion (Richardson)…a very strong competitior for a medal. Mo (Mobolaji Adeokun) in the female hurdles and as always the relay teams are going to be coming with fire, so Loughborough, Brunel watch out, we’re coming for you again!
Unfortunately, with the trials being the same weekend, athletes like Shannon Hylton, Maya Bruney and Khai Riley-La Borde who might have competed are in Birmingham, but we’ve still got a good selection.
Which of the other universities would you say are your biggest rivals and what can you say to the competition ahead of this weekend?
SJ: I think we are the best uni athletics team in London…nationally you’ve got to look at your Loughborough, your Cardiff Met, they always come with storng teams and they’re pretty competitive. But we’re pretty confident this year that again, when it comes to relays and most of the sprint events, we’re going to take a lot of medals home.
Rochelle: Can’t touch us!
