The 2026 edition of the Blues Dinner was held on Friday 6 November at the Great Hall.
The night kicked off with the conferral of John Coates AC, led by Chancellor David Thodey AO and Deputy Chancellor Emeritus Professor Alan Pettigrew. The ceremony awarded one of the most influential figures in the international Olympic moment with a degree of Doctor of Law (honoris causa).
The event honoured a record 58 student athletes with their Blue; a testament to the hard work and dedication these athletes put into sport and academia.
| Helen | Monks | Sailing | 1970 |
| Zijian (Kenneth) | Gao | Tae Kwon Do | 2022/23 |
| Samuel | Allsopp | Rugby Union | 2024 |
| Adjani Zahra | Afief | Volleyball | 2025 |
| Paul | Howe | Tennis | 2025 |
| Marte | Klyve | Handball | 2025 |
| Max | Oldham | Swimming | 2025 |
| Brio Maria | Dos Santos-Lee | Ultimate Frisbee | 2025/26 |
| Ryan | Goldschmidt | Water Polo | 2025/26 |
| Thomas | Oates | Water Polo | 2025/26 |
| Isaac | Schuler | Water Polo | 2025/26 |
| Lucinda | Alder | Athletics | 2026 |
| Larisa | Arnautovic | Tennis | 2026 |
| Samuel | Basha | Rowing | 2026 |
| Hugo | Blacker | AFL | 2026 |
| Colin | Chen | Fencing | 2026 |
| Oscar | Chen | Wrestling | 2026 |
| Kalani | Creech | Swimming | 2026 |
| Angela | Cui | Tennis | 2026 |
| Jack | Cullen | Rowing | 2026 |
| Madeleine | D’Almeida | Basketball | 2026 |
| Bridgette | Dang | Tae Kwon Do | 2026 |
| Eamon | Doyle | Rugby Union | 2026 |
| Andre | Dubier | Cycling | 2026 |
| Harry | Evans | Basketball | 2026 |
| Georgia | Fichardt | Athletics | 2026 |
| Alyssa | Fikkers | Rowing | 2026 |
| Piper | Freeman | Tennis | 2026 |
| Max | Garnett | Rowing | 2026 |
| Juliette | Harris | Soccer | 2026 |
| Ellen | Hughes | Soccer | 2026 |
| Ryan | Hunter | Netball | 2026 |
| Jack | Jordan | Netball | 2026 |
| Zanthe | Juric | Soccer | 2026 |
| Lara | Lepage Post | Basketball | 2026 |
| Tarin | Liu | Fencing | 2026 |
| William | MacKay | Swimming | 2026 |
| Alice | Macready | Rowing | 2026 |
| Joseph | Mangelsdorf | Rugby Union | 2026 |
| James | McGregor | Rugby Union | 2026 |
| Isobel | McRobert | Fencing | 2026 |
| Ignatius | Mitchell | Basketball | 2026 |
| Matilda | Offord | Triathlon | 2026 |
| Alexandria | Oliver | Basketball | 2026 |
| Liam | Platt | Netball | 2026 |
| George | Poolman | Rugby Union | 2026 |
| Ethan | Quintana | Athletics | 2026 |
| Oliver | Schmude | Rugby Union | 2026 |
| Sophia | Tayeb | Rowing | 2026 |
| Corey | Twining | Soccer | 2026 |
| Eren | Unal | Wrestling | 2026 |
| Yvette | Volk | Basketball | 2026 |
| Jake | Weinstein | Basketball | 2025 |
| Ben | Williams | Basketball | 2026 |
| Alex | Witherden | AFL | 2026 |
| Caleb | Yago | Swimming | 2026 |
| Zhehan (Joanna) | Yang | Table Tennis | 2026 |
| Amelie | Yee | Fencing | 2026 |
Eleven recipients were also awarded Golds for their outstanding services to Sydney Uni Sport and our sporting clubs for a number of years. Sydney Uni Sport would like to congratulate the following volunteers, administrators and coaches on their leadership and dedication.
| Chin-Liang | Beh | Muay Thai |
| Ryan | Burge | Rugby Union |
| Harrison | Crook | American Football |
| Thomas | Elliott | Fencing |
| Deborah | Fox | Rowing |
| Robert | Giallombardo | Baseball |
| Warrick | Lynch | Sydney Uni Sport |
| JoAnn | Matruglio | Water Polo |
| Mark | Prater | Rowing |
| William | Ronald | Fencing |
| Andrew | Taurins | Squash |
After roaring successes from Sydney University student athletes this year, the Male and Female Blue of the Year was awarded to Rugby Union player James McGregor and triathlete Matilda Offord.
James McGregor represented Australia in six rugby 7s tournaments, winning gold at the Valladolid tournament of the HSBC Sevens World Series. A Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Civil Engineering) student, James demonstrated his versatility across both the sevens and XVs formats, by also playing 12 first-grade Shute Shield games for Sydney University, helping the team reach the semifinals and earning selection in the club’s Team of the Year. Most recently, he played for Albion Athletic in the inaugural Ultimate Sevens competition.
Matilda Offord won gold at the Sprint Distance at the Australian National Championships and at the Husky Triathlon Festival. A Master of Health Communication student, Matilda came 3rd in the Osaka Castle Asian Cup and competed at the Wels European Cup and the Tata European Cup, finishing 2nd in both competitions. Matilda represented Australia at the World Triathlon Cup in Rome, finishing 27th in the Elite Women’s event and 11th in the Mixed Relay.
Notable alumni were welcomed back, particularly those celebrating 50 years since receiving their Blue in 1976:
- Grace Bryant (Water Polo, 1976)
- John Coolican and Phil Crowe (Rugby Union)
- Jock Baird and Tom Jenkins (Cricket)
- Brendon Hyde (Athletics).
We are also honoured to welcome Blues recipients from earlier years:
- From 1974, Greg Harris — Rugby Union.
- From 1973, Tony Freestone — Rugby Union.
- From 1971, Chris Noel — Rowing.
- From 1970, Malcolm Holmes — Rugby Union; Stephen Norrish — Rugby League; and Peter Kerr — Water Polo.
- From 1969, Anne Titterton, Therese Clancy and John Boultbee — Rowing.
- From 1968, Peter Hennessy — Rugby League.
- From 1967, Rodney Tubbs — Aussie Rules.
- From 1966, celebrating 60 years since receiving their Blues, Philip Titterton — Rowing; Ronald Spackman — Rugby League; and Hartley Anderson — Baseball.
- From 1964, Phil Harris earned a Blue in Rowing.
- Michael Baume, a Soccer Blue from 1951
- And last but by no means least, Lennon O’Brien, who earned 2 Hockey Blues in 1948 and 1949.
Master of Ceremonies Stephanie Brantz welcomed back Christopher Ius (Athletics Blue, 2022) and Lucy Stewart (Gymnastics Blue, 2025 and Blue of the Year), to speak about their experiences as student athletes and their connection to the University in a captivating panel discussion to the room of 300 people.
The night also featured addresses from SU Sport Chair, Jane Spring AM, CEO, Ed Smith and University Chancellor David Thodey AO, who all acknowledged the hard work put in by the athletes, clubs and our staff and volunteers. Jane proudly boosted that Sydney University successfully retained the overall UniSport Nationals Championship for another year and more importantly came 2nd in the spirit competition, demonstrating that we perform, but we do it with fairness and integrity.
Sydney Uni Sport would like to congratulate all the Blue and Gold recipients in the 2026 cohort, as well as John Coates AC for his Honorary Doctorate in Law. It has been an honour to celebrate Sydney University’s sporting legacy –celebrating athletes past and present.
