World University Games medals for Nottingham students

The FISU (International University Sports Federation) World University Games began on the 16th July, and University of Nottingham fencer James Jeal was called into action before any competitive sport took place, proudly leading the GB contingent as one of the flag bearers at the competitions opening ceremony.

Once proceedings had been taken care of, a number of Nottingham athletes began their quest for medals representing Great Britain with Matthew Howell taking to the mat in the Taekwondo competition, and James Hazell forming part of the Wheelchair Basketball squad.

Howell, a two time European university games G1 champion in 2022 and 2023, began the competition with back to back 2-0 wins against Australia and Bosnia and Herzegovina competitors to secure a knockout birth. A France representative awaited  in the quarter finals, with Matthew firing back from one round down to cement his spot in a guaranteed medal place. Taking on Thailand in a tough semi-final, Matthew suffered an injury above the eye which forced the referee to bring the contest to a halt, and resulted in Matthew securing bronze, and the GB Students first medal of the 2025 edition of the FISU World University Games Summer.

Meanwhile, more history was to be made on the basketball court. On day four of the championships James Hazell and his team mates Alex Marshall-Wilson (Loughborough University), William Bishop (Cardiff Metropolitan University), and Shayne Humphries (University of Stirling), won GB Students first ever para medal in the 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball competition, with the 2025 tournament the first time the sport has been part of the games. In the opening group stage, the side won two of their three pool matches to set-up a quarter final showdown against Brazil. A high scoring game full of energy saw the boys drain shot after shot, winning 18-10 to secure another semi-final for a Nottingham student, this time against the USA. The contest started off as a cagey affair, but GB came out on top 7-3 to set up a final against favourites Spain. Ultimately, the Spanish side would claim gold with a 8-11 win, but James and the GB team would still return home with an incredible and historic silver medal.

Amongst the others to represent their country at the championships were Louis Taiwo (Fencing), Louisa Piper (Archery), Sam Mostowfi and Luke Marsh (Gymnastics) who all represented Great Britain, as well as Megan Sng (Swimming) who competed for Hong Kong. 

Congratulations to our University of Nottingham World University Games medal winners James and Matthew. The University of Nottingham is proud to have had a number of representatives at the summer showpiece games, and congratulates all of our athletes on their achievements. 

GB Students would finish with 18 medals won across the games, ending as the 10th best country by medal total. You can find out more about the 2025 World University Games by visiting the official website, and by visiting the official BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) news pages. 

All photographs courtesy of BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport).

Notes for editors

University of Nottingham are the top UK University for team sport, placing 2nd in the overall British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings in the 2024/25 season. For more information on our performance sport offer, including scholarships and support for student athletes, please click here.