Leeds Beckett thrived in BUCS (British Universities and College Sport) nationals, which is always able to produce some brilliant sporting moments and performances every year. Athletes hailing from a variety of different universities and colleges across the country came together at this annual event which is just one reason as to why it is always a fantastic competition. From fencing and badminton to climbing, swimming, and athletics, there was a very large range of sports being competed in.
Focusing on the athletics events, Beckett’s athletes were truly able to shine and made the university one of the standouts in the competition. Overall, they were able to achieve four medals across a few of the different athletic sports. David Chapman and Ethan Hussey both received gold medals for their performances in the 200m and 3000m events respectively. Then Tom Kwissa won silver in the high jump and Callie Coates, who also competed in high jump, was awarded with a bronze medal.
Then, although not getting medals for their performances, Beckett’s relay team narrowly missed out on a podium place, managing to finish in fourth place despite the little practice they had together. Additionally, other talented individuals such as Drew Burridge performed well, also coming fourth but in the 400m first heat on the second day of the tournament.
Chapman, who is captain of the track team, showed just how impressed he was with Beckett’s performance in BUCS, saying, “We smashed it. We did really really well … I’m so proud of the team”.
Although firstly praising the rest of the team, Chapman definitely had reason to give himself credit too. Having competed in the Nationals last year and receiving silver, this year Chapman set himself the target of going that one step further, resulting in him breaking his own personal best and as mentioned previously, achieving gold.
He stated that, “I think on an interview, I said it was my top five moments of my life, and I still stand by that. You can see on the video of me celebrating how much it meant to me”. Then after the competition, when speaking with his head coach at Beckett, he was told, “that was one of the best performances from indoors for a Leeds Beckett team in a good while”, reaffirming how impressive their results were.
Chapman is only in his second year of university yet has taken on the responsibility of the captaincy well. Given his background in athletics and having led the South Yorkshire team for English schools in the past, it is no surprise that he hasn’t struggled to acclimate himself to the role. He also has strong ambitions of retaining the captaincy next year, which re-emphasises his prominent leadership qualities that he has already demonstrated so far.
But, when competing for medals and trying to be successful in sports and competitions like BUCS, it doesn’t come without its pressures. When speaking on the matter, Chapman opened up, giving an insight into an athlete’s mindset, saying,” I do feel the pressure quite a lot. And you know, behind closed doors I will admit I’ll break down, I’ll start stressing, and as soon as I step on the track, it’s kind of like, my home”.
Feeling comfortable when on the track is hugely going to benefit him as, beyond university, Chapman has set his sights on something many can only dream of. With the Leeds Beckett Hub producing five Olympic medals in Tokyo 2020, it’s clear that they can produce top level athletes that can succeed. Chapman aspires to compete in the competition in the future but recognises that this year is too soon for him. His next step is said to be repeating the feat that he achieved at BUCS Nationals, by running an outdoors time of under 21 seconds with him saying, “That would really cement me as a sub-21 runner.”
His drive and motivation to become a success is clear, with him saying, “My main goal this year is to … try and get my times down, ready to go into next year to then run at the national champs and then potentially run for GB”.
So, with Chapman being one of the stars in Beckett’s BUCS success along with a few others, the tournament has been able to highlight a handful of prospects that may make the headlines more than they already have. With the Olympics as the ambition, their names are definitely ones to keep an eye on.
