Griffith Sports College and the Griffith University family are keeping a close watch on our two athletes at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in South Korea.
Mogul skier Britt Cox (Bachelor of Communications) is competing at her third Games after making her debut as a 15-year-old in 2010 while Freestyle Aerial skier Danielle Scott is at her second Olympics with both considered legitimate medal chances.
“Qualifying for my second Olympics has been pretty incredible,” Danielle said.
“After having been to one it’s not guaranteed you will definitely go again so you shave to keep your head in the game.
“It’s just as exciting and I hope a little less nerve-racking now that I havebeen to one.”
At just seven years of age, Danielle was the youngest ever athlete to be at the Australian Institute of Sport while training as a gymnast. Two decades on, she heads to South Korea after an outstanding 2017 Freestyle skiing season which saw her claim silver at the World Championships in Spain.
“This season has gone pretty well as I had a few PBs that I wanted to crack leading into the Games. The World Cup Tour isn’t as important this year so the focus has been elsewhere and I hope to pick up that momentum that I had last season at the World Championships.”
The 27 year-old credits Griffith Sports College as being a major support in helping her balance the rigours of training and study especially as Scott spends most of the year on the European slopes.
“It has certainly been tough to do both but I took on the challenge knowing that it would be a good escape from training if I needed it.
“Griffith College has certainly made my journey as a student-athlete smooth and successful. I wouldn’t have been able to travel, train and compete without having the flexibility of picking up subjects in my downtime and also putting study on hold when my sporting demands were high.”
Danielle paid tribute to the College’s support staff whom she said have been invaluable over many years.
“I have three subjects left of my Bachelor of Communications and I look forward to completing them after the Olympics.”