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Former Leeds Beckett students dominate BBC sports personality nominations
Olympic gold medallists Keely Hodgkinson and Alex Yee join Britain's most successful Paralympian of all time, Dame Sarah Storey, on the shortlist of six.
- Dame Sarah Storey won both the women's cycling Time Trial and Road Race in Paris, taking her paralympic gold-medal haul to 19. Dame Sarah graduated from Leeds Beckett in 2000 with a BSc (Hons) in Sport & Exercise Science.
- Former student Keely Hodgkinson grabbed the headlines in Paris with her dominant 800m gold medal performance. Keely went one better than her silver in Tokyo, achieved while she was still a first-year criminology student at Leeds Beckett. Keely retains a connection to the university, supported by Strength and Conditioning coach Dane Mitchell.
- Sport and Exercise graduate Alex Yee joined Keely in upgrading his silver from Tokyo to gold in the individual triathlon with one of the most dramatic late surges of this or any Olympics. Alex also won a triathlon team bronze, alongside fellow alumna Georgia Taylor-Brown.
Peter Slee, Vice Chancellor of Leeds Beckett University, said: "It has been a remarkable year for our sporting alumni, and many incredible athletes, coaches and sports scientists whose rare mix of talent, drive and dedication serve the sporting spectacles we remember for the rest of our lives.
"Dame Sarah's 30 Paralympic medals across four decades is simply extraordinary. Alex and Keely's victories - and the manner in which they were achieved - have secured their place in our country's distinguished sporting history.
"Everyone at Leeds Beckett is extremely proud to be associated with such wonderful athletes and role models, and I am sure will be supporting them in the public vote."
Leeds Beckett offers a number of routes and support for athletes to achieve the best in their sport alongside studying. Find out how we can help.
You can vote during the show, which is broadcast on BBC one and IPlayer on Tuesday 17 December.
In this article
Professor Peter Slee
Professor Peter Slee joined Leeds Beckett University as Vice Chancellor in September 2015. Peter was educated at the University of Reading, gained his PhD in Modern History from the University of Cambridge and was a postdoctoral fellow at Manchester and Durham. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an award-winning author, teacher and trainer.
Peter joined Leeds Beckett from the University of Huddersfield where he had been Deputy Vice Chancellor since 2010. He has held a number of senior roles in higher education management at Northumbria, Durham and Aston universities and at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) where he was Head of Education Policy.
