Staff writer Richan Drever provides an extensive overview of the Varsity series between Kings and UCL Athletics, which took place at the London Marathon Community Track in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on the 22 March.
The 2026 Varsity series saw fierce competition from both Kings and UCL Athletics, with Kings desperate to retain their deserved title and prove that London does indeed bleed red. Alas, this was not meant to be, with the final result being 172 to 166 to UCL, meaning the trophy will still stay with UCL for another year. Despite the result, however, the team still performed commendably, with KCLAXC’s President Pierre Walker, praising his team for their efforts and expressing his ecstasy with the “tremendous effort” the entire team put in.
The day started brilliantly for Kings, with Imogen King winning the women’s 5K in a blistering time of 18:26 minutes, 12 seconds faster than second place. She’s said she was “chuffed” by the race, with it continuing her streak of having never been beaten by a UCL athlete.
The men’s 5K, however, had a different result with UCL winning. Notably, however, the overall winner was a King’s alumni, Leon Wheeler, who finished the race 17 seconds faster than the winner from UCL.
The 800m and 400m races also tilted more in UCL’s favour, with their team taking the spoils in both male and female races in each. Despite this, King’s Athletics was still able to get athletes on the podium for these events, with several third-place finishes from Anna Cooke, Salihah Baig and Indraneel Kandlagunt. Similar things could also be said about the men’s 1500m, which saw distance captain Tom Rickard finish in third with a time of 4:30.
However, it wasn’t all near misses from our athletes, especially for our female athletes, as they dominated their competitions. In the 100m, first, second and third were all King’s athletes with Lateefah Agberemi winning with an insane 12:21. The 1500m race had a similar story with Kings placing first, second, third and fifth with the winner being Salihah Baig. This form only carried on further with Isabel Walton, who won both the 200m and 100m hurdles whilst being the runner-up in the 100m. Moreover, Lateefah Agberemi continued to outshine UCL, having also won the shot put, long and triple jump events, capping off an extraordinary performance by her.
These performances are utterly impressive and a testament to the depth and strength of the women’s squad, especially considering how it hasn’t always been this strong. Pierre is extremely pleased with this, saying he is “happier than ever” with the equal mix of male and female athletes as well as the presence of female scholarship athletes.
The male 100m and 200m races swung back to UCL, with Pierre Walker being in the mix both times. In particular, the 200m race was extremely close, where the top three athletes all finished around 0.15 seconds apart from each other, resulting in a photo finish. Sadly, our president finished on the wrong end, still placing in a valiant third.
Having been an incredibly close contest all day, the relays fully upset the balance, with UCL putting the final nail in the coffin for our athletes. The 4x100m female relay saw our women beat UCL yet again. However, it wasn’t enough for the King’s, who lost all their other relay events. Pierre reiterated the importance of the relays as they are basically “a double point scoring event”, but the increased numbers on UCL’s side meant they could take full advantage of this, resulting in them now winning two athletic varsities in a row.
Not all results can ever go your way and KCLAXC now know this best after leaving their hearts out on the track. Each athlete completely gave their all in each of their event and none would have left questioning and asking what ifs. The hunger is there within the squad and with an extra flame lit, I won’t be surprised if these athletes return next year with a vendetta and a new determination to break UCL’s momentum.
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