Olympic silver medallist named in AoC Gold Awards honours list

Stuart Bithell (on the right) with his sailing partner Luke Patience, after winning their Olympic 2012 silver medals

Olympic silver medallist, Stuart Bithell, has been named in the Association of College’s (AoC) Gold Awards honours list 2013.

The AoC Gold Awards and honours are given to people who have attended a College and who have since gone on to achieve excellence in his or her chosen field.

Stuart studied on the BTEC National Sport programme at Hopwood Hall College in 2004 and 2005 and was nominated for the award by Lisa Mckay, Sport and Fitness Academy Lecturer at Hopwood Hall College, who was one of Stuart’s tutors when he studied there.

Lisa says: “Stuart had a natural talent for sport and showed excellent skills in any sport that he tried. Academically he excelled throughout his time here and successfully passed his sport course with a distinction, demonstrating the ability to complete accurate research and independent study to successfully complete all of his academic work to the highest possible level.

"He recently told me: ‘I learnt heaps about the body, training programs, psychology in sport, nutrition and much more. We also had several practical sessions which again helped me develop my fitness - directly improving my skills as a sailor. Thinking back now, Hopwood Hall College was part of the building blocks that developed me as an Olympic silver medalist’.”

Throughout his studies Stuart was sailing at very high standard which took a large amount of dedication and commitment. Not only was he having to juggle his time at College but he was having to spend every waking minute sailing and striving to get selected for national teams. At 16 he was on the pathway to becoming very successful within his chosen sport and when asked, in his final year at Hopwood Hall College, what his progression would be on completion of the course he answered: “I am going to be a professional sailor”. All of the staff had every confidence in Stuart that he would fulfil his lifelong ambition and were thrilled to see that he did just that last Summer.

Lisa concludes: “It was a pleasure teaching Stuart for two years and playing a part in setting him on his way to achieving his ambition in life. Stuart’s energy and passion is still focused on Olympic sailing and being a full time professional sailor and he has told me that he will not rest until he has won an Olympic Gold medal. It is a great honour for the College that he has been named in the AoC Gold Awards honours list.”