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The Performance programme originally focused solely on physiotherapy, something which orienteering Silver scholar Mihaly Ormay (Civil Engineering, Third Year) is using after sustaining a tendon injury.

Forget Scout badges and maps: orienteering is an endurance sport which requires quick thinking and excellent fitness to find the right route. Having enjoyed orienteering with his family from a young age, Ormay came seventh at the Junior World Championships in 2018.

鈥淢y mindset was 鈥榮tudying first, sports second鈥�; mainly because orienteering is not the kind of sport which you can live on,鈥� he says, of his choice to study at Imperial. 鈥淚 applied for other universities that deliver bigger sports programmes, but they weren鈥檛 as good in science and engineering as Imperial.鈥�

Ormay often trains with the College鈥檚 cross country runners and occasionally moonlights for the team. Before his injury, Ormay was training for around two hours a day, alongside studying for his civil engineering degree. But, as he points out, this is a normal part of the student experience. 鈥淚f someone does theatre or music, they spend the same time on that.鈥�

And the beyond the elite level, Imperial is a hotbed of sporting achievement for the enthusiastic and less-skilled. The newly-renamed Imperial Athletes has 90 competitive clubs that focus on university-level amateur spot 鈥� and having a great time in the process. This year saw an unprecedented 5,000 new sign-ups to Imperial鈥檚 student league teams.

More than 200 people signed up to volleyball 鈥� one of the world鈥檚 most sociable group sports. 鈥淚t was clear from the early days of this return to College life that there was this wave of enthusiasm for volleyball 鈥� we didn鈥檛 turn anyone away,鈥� says club president Miriam Sarkis (MEng Chemical Engineering 2020, PhD Chemical Engineering 2024).

鈥淚nclusivity is always a recurring theme because it promotes the sporting culture for people who maybe haven鈥檛 had the chance to practice and try out a sport before they came to university. Now they have that opportunity.鈥�

As Imperial鈥檚 Senior Sports Development Officer, Melissa Steingass oversees the amateur arm of student sport, from martial arts, riding and polo, to rifle and pistols, rowing and the student classic, ultimate frisbee.

鈥淲hen restrictions were in place you could still play sport when you couldn鈥檛 do other social things,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t definitely became a social channel. Sport always reflects society, so it is very reflective of a diverse student body.鈥�

And for many amateur athletes, sport is as much a part of their lives as it is to Performance scholars. Madeleine Woodburn (Design Engineering, Fourth Year) was a regional-level hockey player at school.

鈥淟oughborough and the other big sporting universities would come and pitch to us, but I鈥檇 never heard of Imperial in a sporting context before coming here,鈥� she says.

Now club captain, Woodburn has been involved in Imperial College Hockey Club throughout her studies, while pursuing her interest in robotics as part of her design engineering degree.

鈥淕oing to Imperial, one of my top concerns was not getting a good work鈥搇ife balance and not finding people who were like me,鈥� she says.

鈥淭he hockey club has been amazing for meeting people and still doing the sport that you love. I always say to people, you know, if you join hockey then you have 150 friends automatically.鈥�

Woodburn鈥檚 next step is a graduate scheme with a focus on leadership 鈥� she credits her hockey involvement with giving her the edge.

鈥淭he recruiters were very interested in extracurricular leadership experience, and that鈥檚 definitely something that strengthened my application.鈥�

鈥淚 spend a lot of my time trying to convince people that actually they do have time to play sport,鈥� says Woodburn. 鈥淢ost people鈥檚 priority is to get the best possible degree, but I think it鈥檚 really hard to get to that level of academic performance without having an outlet.鈥� And whatever your outlet, Imperial is likely to have the perfect match.

Imperial sportspeople leading the way

Sir Roger Bannister CBE
(St Mary鈥檚 Hospital Medical School 1954)
Olympic 1,500m runner and first man to run sub four minute mile
Abigail Dow
(MEng Mechanical Engineering 2020)
Member of the England women鈥檚 national rugby team
Daniel Rowden
(Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering)
British champion 800m runner and 2020 Olympian
Melissa Hexter
(Bioengineering research postgraduate)
European powerlifting champion
Henry Fieldman
(Life Sciences 2011)
Olympic bronze medal winning cox
Kenza Tazi
(Physics 2019)
Olympic slalom skier
Louis Attrill MBE
(MEng Civil Engineering 1997)
Olympic gold medallist rower
Simon Dennis MBE
(Biology 1997)
Olympic gold medallist rower
Dr Dave Henson MBE
(MSc Bioengineering 2014, PhD 2020)
Paralympic T42 bronze medallist