STRATFORD Athletic Club’s Rory Dwyer finished third in the high jump at the BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sport) Indoor Championships in Sheffield on Sunday.
The BUCS Championships is a breeding ground for many British track and field stars and this year the new breed included four Stratford athletes who were continuing their sporting careers away from the familiar surroundings of their home environment.
Dwyer, competing for Loughborough University, is enjoying an injury-free indoor season and, after qualifying for the high jump final, he went head-to-head with long-term rivals Ryan Webb, Will Grimsey and Lewis McGuire.
In the final stages Dwyer kept his nerve and finished with 2.08m to earn bronze – his first ever medal at the prestigious championships.
Emily Madden Forman, competing for Liverpool John Moores University, was making her BUCS debut and she qualified for the high jump final. Up against 11 other women, including Olympian Morgan Lake, Madden Forman managed a jump of 1.66m to finish seventh.
Dan Boyd, a student at Gloucestershire University, was also competing at his first BUCS Championships. He was one of more than 100 sprinters competing on the first of three days in the heats of the 60m and ran a season’s best of 7.46secs to finish fifth in his heat.
The following day he lined up in the long jump and, despite limited training, he finished with a best of 6.22m – his second-best indoor jump ever.
Jess Sheppard, another BUCS debutant, was competing for Nottingham University in the 400m. She produced a typically gutsy run in her heat and finished with an indoor personal best of 60.07 which was good enough to qualify for the semi-finals. In a fast second-round heat, she finished fifth in 60.43.
Report compiled by Paul Bearman.
