Former Bishop Challoner pupil heading to represent GB

Mercy Brown admits she has to pinch herself every time she represents Great Britain as she prepares for this month’s World University Games in Chinese Taipei.

The 21-year-old from Canary Wharf only took up the sport to help pass her GCSE PE grade at Bishop Challoner school but has now seen her career take off.

And after representing England at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the University of East London graduate is hoping to medal at this summer’s World University Games.

Held biennially in major cities across the globe, the World University Games sees athletes come together to compete across numerous sports, with the Summer Universiade the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympics.

This year’s event will be staged in Chinese Taipei from August 19-30 with almost 10,000 participants, from over 170 countries, expected to compete.

Brown said: “This will be my first World University Games and I’m really excited because I didn’t realise how big an event this is, but it is one of the largest multi-sports events in the world, second only to the Olympics.

“Having not been to an Olympics yet and having been to a Commonwealth Games, this is whole new step in the right direction.

“So I’m really excited because I am going to be up against some of the best athletes in the world and I am going to get the experience of having the opening and closing ceremonies and being in one big team.

“When you compete in weightlifting you don’t get the crossover into other sports so being around other like-minded athletes will be very interesting and I’m very excited to be going.”

At the last Games, Team GBR recorded its biggest medal haul in 10 years, with 12 per cent of athletes medalling – a total of 11 podium finishes split between three gold, four silver and four bronze.

Brown, who studied sports and exercise science at UEL, admitted she didn’t have international dreams when she took up the sport at 15 years old and is happy to have proven people wrong about her potential.

She added: “It’s absolutely crazy that when I started I never had an Olympic vision, I never had a dream to compete internationally for anybody – I just liked being involved in sport.

“Thinking back to when I started as a 15-year-old, just looking for a better GCSE grade, there’s was no way I could see myself going to the Commonwealth Games, having European medals and now going to the World University Games.

“I was one those kids in school that people didn’t even expect to finish secondary school so to be at this point now is just crazy, I have to pinch myself now, there’s still a long way to go. It’s nice to prove people wrong.”

*British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the national governing body for Higher Education (HE) sport in the UK, organising leagues and competitions for more than 150 institutions across 52 different sports.

Over 110 athletes will represent the GB team at the 29th FISU Summer World University Games 2017 from August 19-30.