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Two golds and a silver for Bristol alumni in Rio

Georgie Twigg celebrates with her gold medal in Rio 2016 Georgie Twigg/Twitter

Saskia Clark and Hannah Mills in the women's 470 sailing Richard Langdon/British Sailing Team

Press release issued: 22 August 2016

University of Bristol graduate Georgie Twigg became a double Olympic medal winner on Friday after the Team GB women’s hockey team took gold in Rio.

Georgie, 25, was part of the history-making team who were unbeaten in the tournament, beating the Netherlands – the defending champions – 2-0 on penalties in a tense final.

It was the first time the British team had reached an Olympic final and followed on from the bronze medal they won at London 2012.

Georgie, a former Law student, was the second University of Bristol alumna to win a gold medal in Rio after Hannah Mills netted top honours in the women's 470 sailing with partner Saskia Clark.

The two golds, added to the silver won by Tom Mitchell in the men's rugby 7s, means that were the University of Bristol a country it would lie 39th in the final medal table, ahead of the likes of India, Turkey and Singapore.

Georgie, Hannah and Tom were all members of the Performance Squad of athletes at the University of Bristol, which helps talented student athletes continue with their sporting careers without compromising their academic progress.

Members receive advice on everything from nutrition to sports psychology, not to mention training from top coaches, sports medicine services and financial support.

Matt Paine, Performance Sport Manager at the University, said: "We're so incredibly proud of all our alumni who have taken part in the Rio Olympics. To come away with two golds and a silver is a phenomenal achievement.

"The success at both London 2012 and Rio 2016 has been a huge boost and shows that our performance programme works. Credit and thanks should go to all our coaches who have had a strong hand in helping our Olympians achieve success.

"Everybody exceeded expectations and, whilst training hard during their time at Bristol, they also managed to achieve academic success as part of their inspirational journey to the Olympic Games."

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