Griffith University congratulates the 45 student, alumni, swim squad athletes and coaching staff named in the Australian Olympic team for Tokyo.

“We are thrilled to see so many Griffith University connections on their way to the Games,” Vice Chancellor and President Professor Carolyn Evans said.

“Nine percent of the athletes named in the Australian Olympic team are part of the Griffith family, which is truly something to celebrate.”

“Their inclusion in the Australian team represents years of training and we congratulate them on their willingness to keep striving for greatness despite a global pandemic and continued interruptions to their preparations.”

Of the 34 Griffith student athletes selected, 24 are making their Games debut. They’re joined by nine alumni, of whom three are on debut.

Renowned swim coach Michael Bohl, who runs Griffith’s Swim Squad on the Gold Coast, will also join the Australian team, in what will be his fifth Olympic campaign.

Griffith Sports College Manager Naomi McCarthy OAM, a dual Olympian and Gold Medallist in 2000 in Sydney, said Griffith’s contribution to the Games this year represented almost double the number of student athletes competing in Rio in 2016.

“Griffith student athletes and alumni will represent Australia at the Olympics in the sports of swimming, shooting, sailing, boxing, canoeing, cycling, athletics track and field, artistic swimming, badminton, football, triathlon, rugby 7s, diving, hockey, water polo, weightlifting, and rowing,” McCarthy said.

“We take great pride in knowing that Griffith Sports College has helped these elite athletes to continue their training and competition commitments alongside study opportunities.

“While we do have a large number of Griffith athletes making their debut, we also have a wealth of experience in the team, with the likes of Education student Dani Stevens, heading to her fourth Games in Discus.

“Meanwhile Biomedical Science alumnus Bronwen Knox is the first Australian woman to make four Games in Water Polo.

“The determination of these athletes to push themselves to the limits of human endeavour holds them in great stead for their careers after representative sport.”

“They’re studying everything from Business to Education, Exercise Science, Nursing, Marketing and Communication but wherever they place their focus I know they’ll perform at a very high level.

“We can’t wait to see them in action in Tokyo!”

Current selected student athletes:

Kirsten Kinash Artistic Swimming B Public Health
Rachel Presser Artistic Swimming B Arts
Riley Day Athletics (200m) B Business
Katie Hayward Athletics (20km Walk) B Occupational Therapy
Dani Stevens Athletics (Discus) B Education
Liz Clay Athletics (100m Hurdles) B Business
Matt Denny Athletics (Discus) B Business
Ellie Beer Athletics (4x400m Relay) B Sport Development
Simon Leung Badminton B Business
Skye Nicolson Boxing B Education
Harrison Garside Boxing B Business
Bernadette Wallace Canoe – Sprint B Design
Jessica Fox Canoe – Slalom MBA
Jaime Roberts Canoe – Sprint Grad Cert Finance
Grace Brown Cycling – Road M Marketing
Cassiel Rousseau Diving B Psychological Science
Hayley Raso Football B Paramedicine
Clare Polkinghorne Football B Exercise Science
Elise Kellond-Knight Football MBA
Emily Gielnik Football B Exercise Science
Tim Howard Hockey B Business
Demi Hayes Rugby 7s B Communication (OUA)
Jaime Ryan Sailing M Environment
Paul Adams Shooting B Business
Emma McKeon Swimming B Public Health
Chelsea Hodges Swimming B Nursing
Kiah Melverton Swimming B Exercise Science/ B Psychological Science
Zac Stubblety-Cook Swimming B Psychological Science/ B Business
Cam McEvoy Swimming B Science (Hons)
Tristan Hollard Swimming B Business
Abbey Harkin Swimming B Business
Meg Harris Swimming B Business
Kai Edwards Swimming B Sport Development
Jaz Hedgeland Triathlon B Digital Media

Selected Griffith swim squad athlete / coaching staff:

Emily Seebohm Swimming
Michael Bohl Swimming Coach

Selected Alumni:

Alyce Wood Canoe B Communication & MBA
Tameka Yallop (Butt) Football B Business (HTERS) & M Business/ M Marketing
Rosie Malone Hockey B Sport Development
Molly Goodman Rowing B Criminology & Criminal Justice
Matthew Hauser Triathlon B Business
Ashleigh Gentle Triathlon B Public Health
Bronwen Knox Water polo B Biomedical Science
Brandon Wakeling Weightlifting B Business

The Olympics get underway on 23 July and run until 8 August.

The Paralympics start on 24 August and finish on 5 September. The entire Paralympic team has yet to be finalised but will also include a number of Griffith student athletes, alumni and coaching staff.

 

4: Quality Education
UN Sustainable Development Goals 4: Quality Education