Five past and present Nottingham students excelled at this year’s Commonwealth Games, as part of the England team which fi nished third at the tournament in Delhi.

Our swimmers, hockey players and cyclists overcame the heat, vociferous home support and the much publicised ‘Delhi belly’ infection to shine during two weeks of international competition.

Biochemistry student Jess Sylvester led the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team to a silver medal in the pool.

Following her race, Jess said: “I was really pleased with the effort as it is the first time I’ve ever done the last leg. I enjoyed it but the Aussies were too far ahead by the time I swam, we were trying to push for gold but it was always going to be a tough race.”

Law graduate (2010) Katherine Wyld, who was due to be a part of the same team, was unfortunately unable to swim in the final due to the recurrence of a knee injury.

History student Nick Catlin and Industrial Economics graduate (2003) Rob Moore, guided the England team into the semi-finals of the men’s hockey competition, but were powerless to prevent their side from leaving India empty-handed.

The curse of the penalty shoot-out denied the team a place in the final, before costing them a bronze medal in the third versus fourth team playoff against New Zealand. The competition ended a successful season for the team, who also came fourth at the Hockey World Cup in March. Biology graduate Sharon Laws (1996) was celebrating as part of the cycling team, which helped Lizzie Armistead claim a silver medal in the women’s road race.

Following the Games, Director of the Department of Physical Recreation and Sport, Dan Tilley, was delighted with the achievements of the University’s athletes and believes that with continued investment Nottingham will be able to attract more high calibre athletes in the future.

He said: “The University does its utmost to provide a balanced environment which allows students to achieve both their academic and sporting potential, therefore it is great to see our students realising this. These athletes are fabulous role models and ambassadors for the University and will hopefully inspire others to aim for these lofty heights.”