Exeter athletes selected for World University Games

Luke Treharne (Men’s Rugby 7s), Hannah Pugsley (Shooting) and Lucy Demaine (Women’s Rugby 7s), will travel alongside 13,500 participants from 170 countries to Kazan, Russia to compete in the student equivalent of the Olympic Games. 27 sports will feature in the event which will officially open in the 45,000 seater Rubin Stadium on 6 July.

Rugby sevens will make its debut at the games and promises an exciting competition. The medical student Luke Treharne is a veteran of international sevens having competed for Wales Students and the World University Championships winning GB side in 2012.

He said: "Last year's world cup in France was one of my favourite experiences as a rugby player. I'm sure this year will be just as awesome. We have a very strong team again this year so we are all aiming to come back with the trophy. 

"I'm feeling well prepared for the games. We have trained well in the last few months with the university 7s team. Since my exams finished I have been able to do a lot of fitness training so I'm feeling sharp."

Fourth year Medical student Lucy Demaine was called up to the women’s GB sevens squad, despite not attending trials, following a team mate’s injury. The GB rugby team have established themselves as a dominant force in University sevens and will be expecting a strong performance.

Lucy said: “It’s amazing, I can’t believe how lucky I am. The World University Games is the second biggest sporting event in the world behind the Olympics. We have a great bunch of girls going with an enormous amount of talent, we are hoping for only one thing; to defend our title from last year and win.”

All three students are supported by the University of Exeter’s High Performance Programme which works to help talent student athletes reach their full potential. Assistant Director of Sport (Performance and Competitions), Nick Beasant explained that international honours should be what every athlete aims for.

He said “Increasingly at the University of Exeter we are seeing athletes being selected to compete on the world stage.

We are delighted by the progress we have been making and these three students are a fantastic example for their team-mates to follow. It’s pleasing to see the University of Exeter is no longer simply a top sporting university in the UK, but now able to provide athletes who can compete and represent at an international level.

An international call-up is the greatest honour that any athlete can achieve and should always be something they aspire to.

At the University we strive to help our athletes reach their goals through training, scholarships and bursaries, and it is always incredibly rewarding to see their hard work and determination pay dividends. We wish them the best of luck for a very successful games experience.”