Wilson wins first GB gold at World University Games for four years

8 Jul 2019

Alicia Wilson ended the four year GB students gold medal drought at the World University Games in Naples as she reigned supreme in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley.

Lining up in the 200m IM final on Sunday night, Wilson got the best start, leading at the first turn after the backstroke leg, before touching second at halfway. A great butterfly leg put her back in the driving seat but with American Ella Eastin on her shoulder at the turn. Wilson stuck to her plan though, powering away down the home straight to take gold in a new lifetime best of 2.11.35.

A day earlier National Centre Loughborough swimmer Joe Litchfield upgraded the bronze medal he won at the 2017 edition of these championships in Chinese Taipei as he secured silver in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley. Having qualified fastest Litchfield had his eyes set on a medal and thanks to a lifetime best swim he stepped onto the second step of the podium.

The first swimming medal of the 2019 Universiade went to Chloe Golding as she won bronze in the Women’s 200m Backstroke courtesy of a new lifetime best performance. Getting quicker in every round, Golding judged her efforts perfectly to touch in 2.09.57 for third, with Kat Greenslade finishing sixth.

Sarah Vasey narrowly missed out on a medal as she finished fifth in a highly competitive Women’s 100m Breaststroke final. Drawn in lane seven, Vasey swam an aggressive race, in the mix for a medal the whole way.

Meanwhile the British divers representing GB students have also been in action since Tuesday, with Edinburgh’s Gemma McArthur leading the way as she landed bronze in the Women’s 10m Platform event. A consistent five dives was the basis of her success, with a fourth round Back 2 ½ Somersault Pike (205B) the pick of the bunch. McArthur finished on a tally of 267.95 points.

Full results from the World University Games can be found here