UAL's Elite Athletes 2022 take home wins in national and global championships
- Written byStudent Communications
- Published date 29 March 2023
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Congratulations to all UAL Elite Athletes who took home wins this year, with a special shoutout to
- Ellie Salmon, winner of the BUCS Autumn Championships
- Michaela Forgacova, taking home silver and hitting 2 personal bests at the London University Championships
- Madeleine Boyd, competing for the Canadian National Team for the first time in November as she placed 9th in the individual event and 5th overall with her team
All our athletes have produced great results with mostly top 10 placements in all of their competitions these past two terms, including Winter and Spring Championships, Nationals, and World Championships.
Congratulations and well done to all our 22/23 Elite Athletes. We wish you all the best of luck in future competitions!
About UAL Elite Athletes
Who says UAL’s creative minds can’t excel on the sports field too?
Arts SU’s Elite Athlete programme supports a select group of UAL students competing in their respective sporting disciplines at a national or international level.
In return, athletes are expected to represent UAL at competitions and help Arts SU nurture their student-led sports club through mentoring or other activities.
This time, the programme selected 8 student athletes who received financial support to pay for their competitions, gear, membership fees, travel and more. They also aided all athletes in their development, including if they wished to enter BUCS competitions.
Find out more about UAL's 22/23 cohort of Elite Athletes:
Charlie Johnson (Taekwondo) - Central Saint Martins
When he’s not busy studying Product and Industrial Design at Central Saint Martins, Charlie trains up to 6 times a week in the run up to a Taekwondo competition, including general strength and conditioning, as well as training sessions with the national England squad.
He won his first medal at the southern championships, despite having been off for 9 months because of a sporting injury and it being only the second time he competed.
His greatest sporting achievement thus far is a silver medal at the Taekwondo International World Championships in the heavyweight cadet division in the summer of 2018 at the age of 15.
Ellie Salmon (Taekwondo) - London College of Fashion
Another Taekwondo athlete: Ellie’s love for blood, guts and gore, which led her to study Hair, Makeup and Prosthetics at London College of Fashion, was somewhat inspired by her Taekwondo training.
At Ellie’s first competition in 2018 at the ITF European Championship, she managed to take home 2 bronze medals and has since competed internationally with the ITFU National Squad and the BUTL Student National Squad.
Throughout her sports journey, she’s had the chance to coach others in competitions and meet many people who inspired her from around the world.
Ivo Pitts (Javelin) - Chelsea College of Arts
Graphic Design Communication student Ivo started out as an 800m cross country runner until he got injured with Osgood-Schlatter disease at the age of 12 – a condition that causes pain and swelling below the knee joint and most commonly occurs amongst young athletes.
Determined not to give up on his sports journey just yet, he began looking for other outlets and eventually turned to javelin.
Since then, the Chelsea College of Arts student has won the 2019 U17 SEAA championships and broke his club record despite only just returning from his injury. He’s also retained the Sussex county champion title for 5 consecutive years and has graduated from the 2019-21 England Athletics Youth Talent Programme as one of 200 first year U20 athletes across England.
He explains how this is regarded as the first step of the performance pathway helping athletes to become GB/England international athletes. He also secured selection for the 2021-23 England Athletics Junior Talent Programme as 1 of 215 athletes.
Lucy Hogg Tempany (Synchronised Swimming) - London College of Fashion
Lucy has been involved in synchronised swimming for 11 years and since turning 19 has become a Senior or ‘Master’ in her field. This means she’s been able to coach groups of under 18-year-olds 3 times a week, after 2 of which she trains herself.
Living at home while studying Fashion Buying and Merchandising at London College of Fashion allowed her to attend public lane swimming sessions at her local pool frequently to keep up her stamina and prepare for tests included in the GB trial criteria.
Some of her greatest achievements thus far include a bronze medal with her team at the National Combo Cup in 2019, followed by winning gold in both team and duet at the National Masters Championships.
In February 2020, she also achieved a skill grade 5 silver, which qualifies her to compete at British Championships as well as attend GB trials.
Lucy Knott (Beach Volleyball) - London College of Fashion
Lucy first fell in love with beach volleyball in 2015, when she took part in a beach volleyball camp at the age of 12.
After playing indoor volleyball for 7 years, she soon returned to beach volleyball and now trains 2 times a week at Crystal Palace. 2 weekends a month, she also travels to Sandbanks in Poole to train. Besides her volleyball training sessions, she also follows a specific gym plan which involves 4 sessions a week and compliments her volleyball training.
Some of her greatest achievements include competing internationally for the England junior and senior national teams. This season, the London College of Fashion student also qualified to compete in the UK grand slams and would like to compete in U20 and U22 international beach competitions this upcoming summer.
Madeleine Boyd (Olympic Skeet Shooting) - London College of Communication
What started out as a hobby with her dad soon turned into a real passion for Madeleine who studies at London College of Communication. From competing in local clay shooting competitions to now joining the Canadian national team, training for Olympic skeet shooting has become a regular part of the Graphic and Media Design student’s weekly routine.
Madeleine is a 4-time Canadian national champion and competed internationally for the team in the 2023 season. She has also won the Women’s category of the English Grand Prix and the title for Southeast of England.
Michaela Forgacova (Olympic Weightlifting) - Chelsea College of Arts
Long before starting her studies at Chelsea College of Arts, Michaela first made the commitment to train for weightlifting when she moved to London to study at Brunel University and joined their Olympic Weightlifting club. 3 years of training around elite athletes marked just the beginning of her Olympic weightlifting career.
The Graphic Design Communication student now trains 4 to 5 days a week while continuing to do CrossFit on the side – which her brother first got her into during her A Levels and thereby kickstarted her sports journey.
Since training professionally, Michaela has won a silver medal at the British Championships in the under 20s age group – the biggest competition in the UK. Another achievement she’s particularly proud of is taking part in the BUCS competition last April after hitting a plateau in her training for a while. Not only did she come away from the competition with a bronze medal, but she also hit a new personal best she had been chasing for years.
Poppy Chennells (Fencing) - Chelsea College of Arts
Poppy’s love for fencing first became evident to her when she was a swimmer and her mother signed her up for fencing with the ambition to start a pentathlon, which consists of fencing, swimming, horse riding, pistol shooting and running.
She now trains twice a week with private coaches and often competes nationally or abroad as part of the GBR fencing team. She also trains for long weekends in Nottingham as part of the British Athlete Development Programme.
Since the Interior Design student at Chelsea College of Arts started her fencing journey, she has refereed competitions and also gained a coaching qualification.
Poppy tells Arts SU:
“Fencing is more than the athletes - there’s also coaches, referees, amours and organisers."
“For me fencing isn’t just a sport but a community that I have got to know well over the years, which creates friends for life.”
Are you an athlete who would benefit from the Elite Athlete programme to help you balance your academic and sporting career?
Get in touch with the team at sports@su.arts.ac.uk and find out more about the Elite Athlete programme.
The scheme is open to both home and international students.
Get active!
Find out more about sport at UAL on the Student Union's sports and societies page. Sports clubs offer opportunities to get involved in competitive and non-competitive sports. Whether it’s competing against other universities in BUCS, or just turning up to have fun, the Arts SU clubs are a great way to participate in sports and meet new friends.