News - Medals mount for QUT champs

QUT students are featuring in the medal mix at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Team QUT medal tally:

Gold – Cate and Bronte Campbell, 4 x 100m freestyle relay

Gold - Cate Campbell, 50m freestyle

Gold - Cate Campbell, 50m butterfly

Gold - Bronte Campbell, 100m freestyle 

Gold - Bronte Campbell, 4 x 100 medley relay

Gold - Mitch Larkin, 100m backstroke

Gold - Mitch Larkin, 50m backstroke

Gold - Mitch Larkin, 200m backstroke

Gold - Mitch Larkin, 200m individual medley

Gold - Mitch Larkin and Grant Irvine, 4x100m medley relay

Gold - Jack McLoughlin, 1500m freestyle

Gold - Georgia Sheehan, women's synchronised 3m springboard

Silver - Jack McLoughlin, 400m freestyle

Silver - Nic Beveridge, para triathlon

Silver - Bronte Campbell, 50m freestyle

Silver - Cate Campbell, 100m freestyle

Silver - Henry Frayne, long jump

Bronze - Grant Irvine, 100m butterfly

Bronze - Connie-Leigh Rixon, lawn bowls

Long jumper Henry Frayne last night overcame a terrible run of injuries to secure a silver  medal while diver Georgia Sheehan won gold in the women's synchronised 3m springboard with Esther Qin.

Swimmers Bronte and Cate Campbell, Mitch Larkin, Jack McLoughlin and Grant Irvine, along with para triathlete Nic Beveridge and lawn bowler Connie-Leigh Rixon have all picked up medals too. They are all current or former members of QUT’s Elite Athlete Program. 

QUT Vice-Chancellor Margaret Sheil AO congratulated Team QUT for its efforts and this week wrote a LinkedIn article about how the university's Elite Athlete Program helps them achieve their goals.

"The athletes benefit by keeping engaged with their wider peer group, and developing a diversity of interests and skills that complement and will eventually outlast their athletic careers." Professor Sheil said.

"Their peers benefit from the inclusion of the elite athletes in university life by witnessing up close their dedication and commitment to excellence. Employers benefit because they know that elite athletes bring certain attributes as employees – drive, determination, commitment, mental toughness and time management skills."

Read the full LinkedIn article here.    

Alison Thomson, coordinator of QUT’s Elite Athlete Program, said it was a partnership with the Australian Institute of Sport which began in 2006 to support students throughout their sporting life and assist them to find a career in tandem with and beyond sport.

“QUT has second highest number of elite athletes in Australia after the University of Melbourne and we do a lot to nurture them,” Ms Thomson said.

“As well as sports scholarships of $10,000 and $30,000, we foster industry engagement and opportunities for them.

“What we are finding is that industry is increasingly recognising what elite athletes can offer them.

“So not only is there life after sport, there are career paths you can take via sport and we are not just talking about coaching or becoming a commentator.”

The QUT-connected athletes competing at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games are:

• Henry Frayne - Long Jump
• Luke Willian - Triathlon
• Michael Tone – Men’s Artistic Gymnastics
• Mitch Larkin - Swimming
• Daniel Mowen - 4 x 400 relay
• Jack McLoughlin - Swimming
• Bronte Campbell - Swimming
• Cate Campbell - Swimming
• Georgia Sheehan - Diving
• Hsuan-Yu (Wendy) Chen - Badminton
• Thomas Cicchini - Wrestling
• Alex Hartmann – 200m & men’s 4 x 100m relay
• Grant Irvine - Swimming
• Ryan Maskelyne - Swimming (representing Papua New Guinea)
• Connie-Leigh Rixon - Lawn Bowls (representing Malta)
• Nic Beveridge - Para triathlon

QUT is part of a national collaborative group of five major Australian universities that form the ATN (Australian Technology Network of Universities).

Media contact:

Amanda Weaver, QUT Media, 07 3138 9449, amanda.weaver@qut.edu.au

After hours: Rose Trapnell, 0407 585 901, media@qut.edu.au

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