Latest news with #WorldUniversity
The Irish Sun
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Kate O'Connor targets Irish heptathlon record while balancing media spotlight and Masters dissertation
KATE O'CONNOR'S Masters dissertation is on how to boost audiences for major championships. When it comes to Ireland at least, she may well be the answer as well as the one posing the question. Advertisement 2 Irish pentathlete Kate O'Connor is gearing up for the world outdoors 2 The Irish pentathlete Kate O'Connor with her 2025 European Indoors Pentathlon Bronze and 2025 World Indoors Pentathlon Silver medals With a Now she is gearing up to do likewise outdoors in heptathlon and almost casually mentions she expects to break her own national record of 6,297 points at the World University Games in Germany this month. O'Connor - speaking from her training camp in Portugal - said: 'At the start of the year, I gave myself a couple of goals. 'And I broke them multiple times during indoors, but my obvious goal at World University's is to break the national record. Advertisement READ MORE ON SPORT 'If I finish, that should definitely happen. I'm not really putting a limit on the score I could do, just go out and have a bit of fun, see where I am. 'My first barrier is to break 6500, I'd like to do that at World University Games and then build on it. 'I think I will put together a pretty big score, but I obviously have to go out and do it.' It will be her last such championship with her dissertation for her post-grad course in Communications and Public Relations due in September. Advertisement Most read in Athletics she said: 'It 's actually an athletics based dissertation. I'm looking at visibility of the world champs in 2023 and how to kind of boost the audience for other championships in the future. 'It's been very interesting, looking at it from a different perspective but I can't wait to get it done to be honest. I've it about half done.' Inside Wimbledon star's home for tournament with gym and wine cellar as she reveals bizarre way she unwinds Her exploits, along with others such as Rhasidat Adeleke, Sarah Healy and Mark English, have gone some way to raising the profile of track and field here. And she admitted she was underprepared for the fallout for her two podium finishes earlier in the year. Advertisement She said: 'I was probably very naive. I took like three weeks off after World Indoors - 'I'll just deal with all the media stuff then, I'll get all that stuff out of the way and then I'll just go back into training'. 'And it hasn't really been like that. It's kind of like now every week there's something where people are kind of wanting me to do different things. 'So it's been busy and I've had to change things around a little bit and trying to work out when to say yes to stuff and no to other stuff.' In the absence of an agent, her father, and coach, Michael has assumed additional responsibilities to deal with the extra demands on her time. Advertisement But the impact of her achievements has largely been positive, attracting increased sponsorship to deal with the significant outlay that comes with being a multi-disciplinary athlete. BIG DEAL She recently signed a contract with Adidas and the plan is to be a full-time athlete for at least a few years, although she is honest enough to admit that her studies were in a distant second place of late. After the World University Games, she plans to compete in some individual events, including at the National Championships in a month's time as she gears up for the World Championships in Tokyo in September. Javelin is earmarked for improvement, with her personal best dating back to 2025. And world silver medalist Anna Hall's 800m time of 2:01.23 - a heptathlon world record - as part of a PB of 7032 in Austria last month served as a reminder of how standards are rising. Advertisement She said: 'Her performance was amazing to watch. I think what she's done in the 800m has changed everyone's perspective on what multi-eventers should be running. 'It used to be that if you were running a sub 2:10, you were a great 800m runner. Now it's going to shift towards having to run 2:05 to be at the races. 'I think that it'll take another couple of years to be challenging for the top spot. And that's ultimately my goal.' O'Connor was speaking as it was announced was extending its partnership with Athletics Ireland to 2030 in a multi-annual six figure deal. Advertisement
Time Out
20-06-2025
- Science
- Time Out
A Hong Kong university has been ranked the 11th best in the world
According to the QS World University Rankings 2026 report, published by higher education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds on June 19, Hong Kong now boasts five universities ranking among the top 100 universities in the world, including the highest-ranked educational institution on the 2026 list located within East Asia. The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has moved up six spots since last year's list to now claim the title of the 11th best university in the world. QS' data shows that HKU's academic reputation scored 99.3, while the employment outcomes of their alumni scored 99.8. This stellar ranking on the global chart means HKU has beat out various other universities that are also known for their academic excellence, such as Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (ranked at number 12), Peking University (ranked at number 14), the University of Pennsylvania (ranked at number 15), Tsinghua University (ranked at number 17), Yale (ranked at number 21), and Princeton (ranked at number 25). The only Asian university ranking higher than HKU is the National University of Singapore, which came in the list at number eight. But Hong Kong's other tertiary institutions also made commendable rankings, with the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) climbing up four spots from last year to now sit at number 32, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) rising three spots to reach rank 44. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University rose three spots from last year to just sit under the top 50 ranking at number 54, and the City University of Hong Kong at 63. Among the full list that considers 1,500 global universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has once again retained its top ranking for the 14th consecutive year, while Imperial College London has also retained their second place from the 2025 rankings. Stanford University, the University of Oxford, and Harvard University round out the best five universities in the world for 2026. See the full list on QS' website.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Bhavtegh and Maheshwari take lead
World University skeet champion Bhavtegh Singh Gill shot 73 out of 75 to take the lead ahead of World Cup gold medallist Mairaj Ahmad Khan (72) and World record holder Angad Vir Singh Bajwa (71) in the second Shotgun National selection trials at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Thursday. Bhavtegh shot 24, 24 and 25 in the three rounds. Two more rounds will be shot on Friday, and the top six will compete in the final. Rituraj Bundela and Smit Singh were also on 71, while Asian Games silver medallist Anantjeet Singh Naruka had shot 70, following rounds of 23, 25 and 22. In women's skeet, Maheshwari Chauhan led with 69, one point ahead of World Cup medallist Ganemat Sekhon. Parinaaz Dhaliwal (67) and Darshna Rathore (66) were close on heel behind the leaders.
