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2 Nov 2009 13:12:12
The man who helped celebrities conquer Mount Kilimanjaro and the English Channel has been honoured by the University of Bedfordshire.
Professor Greg Whyte was the sport scientist and trainer of the celebrity team of Cheryl Cole, Fearne Cotton, Alesha Dixon, Gary Barlow, Ronan Keating and Chris Moyles which climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Comic Relief 2009.
He also successfully trained and mentored comedian David Walliams to swim the 21 miles of the English Channel in ten hours and 34 minutes.
Professor Whyte, from the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise at Liverpool John Moores University, was one of five people to receive an honorary degree from the University of Bedfordshire and joined hundreds of students in Bedford to celebrate their graduation.
Born and raised in Luton, he had a distinguished international sporting career as a modern pentathlete, has worked as consultant physiologist to many Olympic and professional sports, and is now one of British sport’s foremost research scientists.
Professor Whyte has undertaken many sport-related endurance tests himself including recently cycling across the USA.
His sporting career spanned three decades and saw him represent Great Britain at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics in Barcelona and Atlanta. He also made ten World Championship appearances, winning a silver medal in 1994.
Four other prominent people from the world of education and sport also received honorary degrees at graduation ceremonies in Bedford.
They were Professor Celia Brackenridge (Director of Centre for Youth Sport and Athlete Welfare, Brunel University) in recognition of her outstanding contribution towards children’s welfare in sport; Government education consultant Sir Jim Rose CBE in recognition of his outstanding contribution to primary education; Professor Miriam David (Institute of Education, University of London) in recognition of her outstanding contribution to education research in widening participation; and former Grantham College Principal and Chief Executive Malcolm Saville in recognition of his outstanding contribution to applied sport and exercise science.
The graduation ceremonies took place on Tuesday and Wednesday (27-28 October) at the Bedford Corn Exchange in St Paul’s Square.
* The University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Les Ebdon CBE, was in London on Thursday (29 October) for a ceremony at the British School of Osteopathy, whose degrees are awarded by the University of Bedfordshire.
The University honoured Alan Diamond and Steven Monger-Godfrey who received the BSO’s first ever Honorary Doctorates of Business Administration. The awards were presented by the BSO’s patron Princess Anne, the Princess Royal.
Latest news» 2009» November» Honorary Greg's on top of the world
