Students and alums bring home 8 medals from Birmingham
11 August 2022; Matt Roseby
The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games saw seven student-athletes and four alumni from the University of Melbourne compete across 14 events, securing eight medals including five gold.
Sitting atop of the medal tally, Australia became the first country to secure 1000 Commonwealth Games gold medals, racking up 67 throughout the Games, 10 more than second-place England. The University of Melbourne would have placed 14th on the medal tally in between Keyna and Singapore.
Check out how each athlete performed in the recaps below:
Jemima Montag
Doctor of Medicine student-athlete and Athletics Club member Jemima Montag secured back-to-back Commonwealth Games gold medals in the Women’s 10km Race Walk. Finishing with a 63-second lead over second place Priyanka Goswami (India), Montag recorded a personal best of 42:34.3, earning the 24-year-old the 15th fastest time ever recorded. The victory meant more than the medal to Montag however, who donned a bracelet worn by her late grandmother, a survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during World War II. Jemima shared how the experiences of her grandmother during the holocaust helped fuel her on the track, drawing on anecdotes of triumphs through adversity to propel her own mid-race hardships. Montag is currently a recipient of the Andrew and Geraldine Buxton Athletics Scholarship at the University, which she holds alongside Paralympian Jaryd Clifford.
Sam Williamson
Bachelor of Science student-athlete Sam Williamson heads back to Australia with four medals from Birmingham, winning one gold, two silver and one bronze in Swimming. Williamson won medals in both of his individual swims, earning a silver in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke and bronze in the 100m event. Williamson also swam in the heats of the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay and the Men's 4x100m Medley Relay which secured him a gold and silver respectively.
Grace Brown
Fresh off the back of the Tour de France Femmes, Bachelor of Arts alum Grace Brown took home Road Cycling gold in the Women’s Individual Time Trial, bettering her 4th place finish from the Tokyo Olympics. Entering as favourite and the last competitor to start, Brown delivered an impressive performance over the 28.8km Wolverhampton course. Finishing 33 seconds ahead of England’s Anna Henderson, only five of the 31 riders finished within two minutes of Brown. Grace also competed in the Women’s Road Race, finishing 33rd in the 112km event where she helped fellow Australian Georgia Baker home to win gold.
Jo Weston
Bachelor of Commerce alum and MU Sport Advisory Board member Jo Weston was integral to the Diamonds throughout their gold medal campaign in Netball. In a rematch of the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medal match, the Diamonds took on England in the semi-final, who boasted a lively home-court advantage at NEC Arena. Weston’s defence was a key contributor to Australia’s semi-final victory, allowing the Diamonds to maintain their streak of appearances in every gold medal match since the sport was introduced to the Commonwealth Games. The Vixens defender helped Australia redeem their group stage loss to Jamaica and bring home the team’s fourth Commonwealth gold in a 55-51 victory.
Annabelle Sutherland
Current Bachelor of Science student Annabelle Sutherland won gold in Women’s T20 Cricket, the first time the T20 format has been held at the Commonwealth Games. Sutherland was part of the 15-member squad who went through the tournament undefeated, beating India in the gold medal match at Edgbaston by only nine runs.
Catriona Bisset
Master of Architecture student, Athletics Club member and current national record holder Catriona Bisset finished 5th in the Final of the Women’s 800m in Athletics. Bisset ran a wonderful race in her Heat where she finished 2nd to qualify automatically for the Final. After a fall at the recent World Championships in Oregon where she required stitches, Bisset rebounded tremendously at the Games to run well and reach the final.
Ben Buckingham
Juris Doctor alum Ben Buckingham finished in 5th place in the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Final in a time of 8:34.17. The race was won by Kenyan Abraham Kibiwot who beat Indian Avinash Sable in a thrilling finish by only .05 of a second.
Kyle Swan
In the Men's 10km Race Walk, Bachelor of Science student Kyle Swan finished in 6th position. Fellow Australian Declan Tingay took out silver in the race.
Kaitlyn Ea
Bachelor of Commerce student Kaitlyn Ea finished 9th in the Badminton Mixed Teams event. Kaitlyn also progressed to the round of 16 and round of 32 for the mixed doubles and women’s doubles respectively.
Ruby Roseman-Gannon
Alongside Grace Brown, Bachelor of Science alum Ruby Roseman Gannon rode in the Women’s Road Race. Despite crossing the line in 29th place, Roseman-Gannon was pivotal in the Australian team's tactics and positioning that led to Georgia Baker claiming gold in the race.
Imara-Bella Thorpe
On exchange from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Thorpe is studying Ecosystems and represented Kenya in Swimming. Imara-Bella swam in the heats of the Women's 50m and 100m Butterfly, Women's 50m Freestyle and Mixed 4x100 Medley Relay, and both the heats and final of the Mixed 4x100 Freestyle Relay.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held in Victoria from 17-29 March, with events happening in regional cities such as Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong and Gippsland.