NTU Student Charlotte Hayward on the upcoming World University Winter Games

Earlier this month, Great Britain announced a team of 58 students to compete under the flag at the upcoming World University Winter Games in Russia. Among the selected athletes was NTU second year Biochemistry student, Charlotte Hayward.

Taking place in the city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia from 2 – 12 March, the games bring together the highest calibre of student athletes from around the globe.

With an estimated 100,000 spectators watching the games and a global television audience of 1.5 billion, it is a true sporting spectacle. Before departing for Russia, we spoke to Charlotte to get her thoughts on the games.

What does the selection mean to you?

“It’s a great honour to be selected to represent the university at the World University Games. I've qualified within a year of coming back from a broken ankle, which took the whole of the last racing season to recover from.

I have been working hard this year to make the breakthrough to race at an international level representing my country. I’m excited to embrace the multisport atmosphere and meet other elite athletes like myself who are managing to combine their sporting prowess with their academic excellence.”

Where did it all start?

“I first discovered Short Track Speed Skating when I moved to Ottawa, Canada for my parent’s work. I regularly skated at the local ice rink and in promotion for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games I was handed a flyer promoting the local short track club. I tried a session and was completely hooked. I entered my first competition as soon as possible and have continued skating all these years. When we moved back to England my closest club, Mohawks Ice Racing Club was in Birmingham which was over 70miles away from home. Due to the passion I had for the sport I made the trek twice a week every week to be able to continue training and achieve my ultimate goal of representing

Charlotte will be representing Great Britain at the World University Winter Games in Russia.

Looking towards the future what are your aspirations in the sport?

Looking towards the future what are your aspirations in the sport?“I am a driven and determined individual with high aspirations. My ultimate goal is to win a gold medal for Great Britain at the Winter Olympic Games. On my journey I would like to follow in my fellow teammate’s footsteps, Elise Christie, and succeed in becoming World Champion and World Record Holder in one of the distances. Currently I am working towards being selected to race on the World Cup Circuit and hope the experiences I will have will prepare for selection to compete at the 2022 Beijin

What are some of your biggest achievements so far in speed skating?

• Starclass Junior Challenge – Bergamo, Italy (08/02/19)
  “In the junior A & Senior Ladies I finished fifth overall including a second place finish in the 500 metre distance.”

• National Championships GBR – Nottingham, United Kingdom (31/03/18)
  “Despite suffering from a broken ankle during the season I finished fourth overall. I finished fourth in the 500 metre and 1000 metre distances and second in the 1500 metre.”

• National Championships GBR – Nottingham, United Kingdom (01/04/17)
  Junior Ladies
  “I finished first overall at the championships with first place finishes in the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances.”

NTU Sport is proud to be represented on both the university, national and international stage by students like Charlotte and we all wish her the very best of luck.

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