Fourth year medical student, Chloe Tang made history by becoming the first athlete to represent the University of Buckingham at the British Universities and College Sports (BUCS) Outdoor Athletics Championships.
The competition was held in Manchester. Chloe competed in the 100m race and the long jump, racing against some of the best athletes from across the UK.
She described the experience as both enlightening and nerve-wracking. She said: “The whole reason why I started going back to athletics was to do this competition, so I started. athletics 2 years ago, and I’ve been doing athletics since I was seven and then I stopped when I came to university.
But once I knew about this competition I was like, maybe it’s something nice to do, to represent my university. You can’t do it when you’re not in university anymore, so it’s like once in a lifetime kind of thing. Maybe I’ll start training again and compete.
“And knowing that I’ll be competing with people that are way above my level, is like I might not even place. I kind of had to mentally prepare myself for that, like I’m competing with myself, not with anyone else. It’s ok if I don’t place, and as long as I do my best, it’s a good experience at the end.”
Although she didn’t secure a podium finish, Chloe achieved a personal best in the 100m race, marking a significant milestone in her athletic journey.
“To have not competed in so long and then to get in my personal best this year, I think it’s very encouraging and it’s motivating me to keep doing this and tell myself if I put the work in, I will improve and I realize that the less nervous I am, the better I perform.
“I want to keep competing, at least for this season. I have a few competitions coming up still in terms of the ones that I went to. Next year, I might still be able to compete, but I’m not very sure in terms of my schedule. Hopefully I will be able to but if not, I’ve had a good run and I’m happy about.”
Towards the end of last year, Chloe Tang represented the Marshall Milton Keynes club in women’s long jump, securing a place. Chloe’s achievements at the BUCS Championships serve as an inspiration.
We wish her continued success in both her athletic and academic pursuits. Would we be seeing more achievements from the university in such events. Only time will tell.
