Talented trio head for the international track

A trio of talented Teesside athletes are heading to international athletics fixtures this week.

All three athletes are studying at Teesside and are receiving assistance from our Elite Athlete programme, which offers financial support to student athletes in their chosen sport.

Jonathan Taylor and Ricky Stevenson will be running in the Under 23 championships in Lithuania while Stacey Smith will be running in an under 20s event in Serbia, after 23 July.

Degree in sport and exercise Jonathan, 21, from Middlesbrough, has just completed his BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise and aims to return for a master’s degree. He has achieved a qualifying time to run the 5,000 metres in Lithuania.

Jonathan has been running since the age of 14 and has already clinched two gold medals, a silver and bronze in previous competitions.

Jonathan said: 'I’m aiming to finish quite high up in this event, although it’s all unknown territory as I’ve only ever run two 5,000 metres competitions before. My next aim is to qualify for the Commonwealth Games and the London 2012 Olympics is my ultimate goal.'

Jonathan is a former pupil of Kings Manor School and St Mary’s College, both in Middlesbrough.

Ricky Stevenson, 20, from Skelton, is a Sport and Exercise (Applied Sport Science) student. He will be running in the 1,500 metres and already has five medals for various team championships. Ricky said: 'I’d like to get into the finals and then see what happens. I’d like to come away with a medal.'

Ricky is a former student of Bydales School in Marske and Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough.

Stacey Smith, 19, is from Prudhoe, Northumberland and a BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy student.

Perform well on the world stage Matt Wright, Sports Development Officer at Teesside University said: 'All our athletes have worked incredibly hard throughout their preparation period and these results for Ricky, Jonathan and Stacey are great reward for their dedication and determination. I’m confident they can now go and perform well on the world stage.'

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