Recent graduate Amy Hunt (m.2020) represented Great Britain in the 4x100m women’s relay team at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, after stepping up from the junior squad to qualify for Paris at the World Relay Championships in the Bahamas earlier in the year. 

Running in the rain, Amy and her teammates won a silver medal, finishing with a time of 41.85 seconds, just after the USA at 41.78.

Tutor for Undergraduate Admissions Dr Jo Willmott was Amy's Tutor during her time at Corpus. She said, "As Amy’s former tutor I was incredibly proud to watch Amy excel in the Olympics as she had excelled at Corpus in English. I have some slight idea of the amount of effort, mental and physical, she has put in to her running over many, many years and could not be happier for her that it has paid off for her on the world stage like this."

Amy and the squad took gold at the 2024 European Championships in Rome last month and she finished second in the 100m at the 2024 British Athletics Championships in Manchester. Amy has previously won gold in the 200m and 4x100m at the European Under-20 Championships.

Corpus at the Olympics

It is 100 years since we had a Corpuscle Olympic gold medal winner, when the Games were also held in Paris. In 1924, Colonel Terence Robert Beaumont Sanders CB MICE (Trinity m.1919), Corpus Fellow, Bursar, College Lecturer in Mechanical Sciences, Dean of College, Praelector and University Lecturer in Engineering, won Olympic gold in the coxless four, having rowed in the 1923 Blue Boat. This was only the third time the event had featured in the Olympics, with Great Britain stroking to victory along the Seine, beating fellow Commonwealth country Canada who came in second, followed by Switzerland who took home the bronze medal.

Our first recorded Olympian was the Rt Rev Reginald Percy Crabbe (m.1902) (pictured right). He represented Britain in the 800m and 1500m at the Athens Olympic Games in 1906, placing fourth and seventh, which, according to an article by Bob Philips, was rather disappointing given his victory at the Cambridge University 880 yards on 8 March in 1:55.8, more than five seconds faster than the US winner in Athens, Paul Pilgrim. 

Reginald was ordained the following year, holding several positions at home and abroad including Bishop of Mombasa. 

Our first Olympic medallist came in the shape of Henry Macintosh (m.1911) (pictured bottom right), who won a gold medal at the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games in the same event (4x100m relay) that Amy Hunt will compete in in Paris. He also ran in heats of 100m and 200m. 

During his time at Corpus Henry was both a Rugby and Athletics Blue, representing the University at the Queen’s Club in 1912, 1913, and 1914, winning the hundred yards in the last two years. Henry went on to claim the Scottish 100 yards title in 1913, before equalling the British record of 9.8 seconds in Vienna. 

A Captain in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, he died on 26 July 1918 of wounds received during the Second Battle of the Somme. (see The Letter, No.92 p.17)

Corpus can also lay claim to British Olympic fencer Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Henry David Hardington Bartlett (3rd Bart) MBE (m.1931). In 1936, he represented Great Britain at the Berlin Olympics competing in the individual foil event, finishing fifth in his pool. He also took part in the Men’s team foil event, reaching the second round.

In 1988, Roger Yeoman (m.1976) represented Great Britain at the Seoul Olympics. Roger competed in the Flying Dutchman sailing event, which was made up of seven races involving 44 sailors, on 22 boats, from 22 nations. Roger helmed the British Flying Dutchman to sixth place. 

Whilst at Corpus Roger won three sailing blues and captained the British Universities Sailing Team.

We wish Amy ever success in her competition and hope she will be the first female Corpuscle to bring home an Olympic medal. 

With thanks to Peter Martland (m.1982) whose recent publication Lost Generations provided much of the details for this article.