The Australian Olympic Committee has confirmed the 63-strong Australian Athletics Team that will represent the nation at the Tokyo Olympic Games, 11 of whom are proud members of Sydney University Athletics Club (SUAC).
Congratulations to the following SUAC representatives:
- Nicola McDermott – High Jump
- Liz Clay – 100m Hurdles
- Nick Hough – 110m Hurdles
- Anneliese Rubie-Renshaw – 4x400m
- Jenny Blundell – 5000m
- Rohan Browning – 100m
- Alex Beck – 400m
- Mackenzie Little – Javelin
- Ed Fernon Modern – Modern Pentathlon
- Marina Carrier – Modern Pentathlon
- Catriona Bisset – 800m
Skimming the athlete profiles, there’s no question there are medal contenders and Olympic finalists among these athletes.
It’s a team that includes the likes of Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry) student Nicola McDermott, who at Stockholm’s Diamond League meet on Sunday, broke her own national record, after jumping 2.01-meters in high jump. Nicola is ranked 3rd in the world and is the only Australian woman in history to have cleared 2-meters – an achievement she has now reached twice.
Not to mention, Bachelor of Arts/Law student Rohan Browning who was pinned as one to watch after being named the third-fastest Australian man to cover 100m, having clocked a blistering 10.05 seconds at the Queensland Track Classics in March this year.
In addition to these 11 athletes, SUAC Director of Athletics and coach, Dean Gleeson will also be travelling to Tokyo with the Australian Modern Pentathlon team as Head Coach and Team Leader.
Noteworthily, every single one of these Tokyo representatives is a beneficiary of SUAC’s Target Tokyo program – a concept conceived to assist SUAC athletes in achieving their Olympic dreams by providing them with a European training base and financial support to train and compete overseas.
The Club thanked contributors of the Target Tokyo program for their generous support of the athletes over the past four years.
“SUAC had just four representatives at the 2013 World Championships and eight at Rio before the inception of the Target Tokyo program.”
“Following Commonwealth Games medals, record club international representation and now this – the results firmly speak for themselves.”
The Paralympic track and field team selection window closes on 11 July so we look forward to seeing whether club stalwart and decorated Paralympian Angie Ballard makes it an even dozen if she is selected.
