First published 30 July 2025
QUT business student Josephine Crimmins has claimed two medals at the 2025 FISU Summer World University Games in Germany, taking out silver in the women’s 50m butterfly and bronze in the 100m butterfly.
The 12-day biennial World Uni Games wrapped up on the weekend, with Australia finishing 11th on the official medal tally from a field of 150 countries.
The UniRoos won 12 medals – five gold, three silver and four bronze
Two of those medals went to Josephine (pictured above), who is studying property economics at QUT.
The 20-year-old was Australia’s first medallist at the World Uni Games when she claimed silver in a personal best time of 26.27 seconds in an incredibly tight 50m butterfly final, where just 0.7 seconds separated first to eighth. (Watch the race video in the UniRoos post below).
In the 100m butterfly final, Josephine also performed exceptionally to earn bronze in a time of 58.62 seconds.
“It was my first time representing Australia and competing internationally, so it’s been an incredible experience and huge learning opportunity for me, which I’m really grateful for,” she said.
“Winning the medals was such a proud moment. It felt like a reward for all the hard work, early mornings, and support from my coaches, physios friends, and family.
“Being able to share those special moments with my home coach Tim (Tim Lane, Somerville House director of swimming) – one of the head coaches for the Uniroos – made it even more meaningful.”
Josephine is now home in Brisbane and back into studying for her Bachelor of Property Economics at QUT.
“Now that I'm back, it's straight into uni again, trying to balance it all,” she said.
“But I’m excited to keep pushing forward, both in and out of the pool.”
Josephine was one of five QUT students who travelled to Germany to represent Australia at the 2025 FISU Summer World University Games.
The students, who are all members of the QUT Elite Sport Program, are:
- Hannah Allen, Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Laws (Honours) – swimming
- Josephine Crimmins, Bachelor of Property Economics – swimming
- James Hardy, Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical and Aerospace) – artistic gymnastics
- Tahlya Smith, Bachelor of Architectural Design – rhythmic gymnastics
- Terrell Thorne, Bachelor of Business – athletics (400m)
QUT Director of Sport Emily Rosemond said selection for the World University Games was an outstanding achievement, particularly given the limited opportunities in Australia for student-athletes to compete on the world stage.
“Competing at the World Uni Games not only reflects their sporting ability and capacity to balance study, training and competition, but also provides an invaluable opportunity to engage with university athletes from across the globe,” she said.
“This environment allows for international friendships and connections to be formed – and who knows, one day they may find themselves lining up together at a World Cup, World Championships or Olympic Games, having first met through UniGames.”
The 2027 World University Games will be held in South Korea in the historical Chungcheong Province.
Before and after then, student-athletes will be vying for selection for the Australian teams for the 2026 Glascow Commonwealth Games, world championships in their respective sports, and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
QUT this year became the first Australian university to be named a gold tier member of the Australian Institute of Sport’s new Elite Sport Education Network (ESEN).
Visit the QUT Elite Sport Program page for more details about how QUT supports student-athletes, including the elite athlete entry scheme and QUT Elite Sport Scholarships.
QUT Media contacts:
- Mechelle McMahon, media@qut.edu.au
- After hours, 0407 585 901 or media@qut.edu.au
