Charlotte Buckley to represent Great Britain in 800m at World University Games

Charlotte Buckley has been selected to represent Great Britain in the women’s 800m at the 2025 World University Games.

To even be considered for selection, the recent Biomedical Sciences finalist needed to finish the 800m in under two minutes and six seconds. However, as of March, her previous fastest time was a second and a half over this.

In April, she crossed the line just 16 milliseconds too late. Then, at a race in Brussels, she managed to finish the race fully half a second inside the qualifying time. She consolidated this with a second sub-qualifying time in Birmingham in early June. A few days later she received the call confirming her place on Team GB.

She described being selected for the games as “a huge moment for me”.

Buckley is one of only three students from Oxford University who have been selected for the 2025 World University Games, which are being held in the Germany’s Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.

The games have been held every other year since 1959 and hosted by countries around the globe. They were last held in the United Kingdom, in Sheffield, in 1991.

The women’s 800m heats will take place in Bochum, near Essen, on Tuesday 22 July. Athletes will compete for spots in the semi-finals taking place on Wednesday, and then the final will be on Thursday.

Buckley said competing in athletics at an international level has been a “realistic goal of mine” since she began “properly training for athletics” in 2017.

“It feels amazing that all is hard work is finally paying off,” she added. “Earning this opportunity has made me hungry to be on my top form at these championships … and push towards future international representation at a senior level in the coming years.”

In June, Buckley was named the 2025 Sportsperson of the Year by Oxford University Sport. She had recently won gold in the 800m at the British Universities and Colleges Sport indoor championships.

She said she is “very grateful” for the financial support she has received from Oriel College to cover some of the “significant costs” associated with competing in these championships.

Buckley has now finished her degree but is staying in Oxford during July to continue training with her coach, Matt Seddon, whom she described as instrumental in her progress and whose efforts have allowed her to balance studying and training to best prepare for races.

She said that she feels “very lucky” to have had tutors and supervisors during her studies “who have appreciated how important sport is to me”.

“They have held me to high academic standards while also recognising my priority sometimes lies elsewhere,” she added.