12 July 2024, Mrinal Asija
Opening on Friday 26 July, the world’s biggest sporting carnival—the Olympic Games—returns to Paris, France to mesmerise us for just over two weeks until Sunday 11 August. The Games will feature 32 sports, with breakdancing making its debut. The Paralympic Games will follow soon after, taking place in the French capital from 28 August to 8 September.
The Olympics and Paralympics showcase the best of sporting abilities and talent, and the University of Melbourne has a proud history of representation at the Games. So far, 245 student-athletes, alumni, and club members have been part of Australian contingents, 14 of whom have won the ultimate prize, an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal. This list is headlined by Australian sporting legends Cathy Freeman and Dylan Alcott.
24 students, alumni and club members have booked their tickets for Paris 2024.
Students
Master of Public Health student Jemima Montag, who previously graduated with a Bachelor of Science, will participate in her second Olympic Games. After finishing sixth in the Women's 20km Race Walk at the Tokyo Olympics, Jemima has rewritten the Australian record multiple times and won her second Commonwealth Games gold medal at the 2022 Birmingham Games. A silver medal at the 2023 World Athletic Championships has made her a real medal contender for Paris. “At my first Olympics, I aimed for a top-10 finish and came sixth, but after last year’s silver medal at the World Championships, I know that I belong amongst the medals and that my team has the dedication and expertise to get me there,” Jemima said in an interview to the Australian Olympic Committee.
Like in Tokyo, Jemima will be accompanied in the 20km Race Walk by Rebecca Henderson, who is set to join her a s student in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. Rebecca has constantly improved her times since the last Olympics and narrowly missed a place on the podium at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Jemima and Rebecca have also helped Australia qualify two teams for the introductory Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay event.
Second-year Science student-athlete Putu Anastasia Kusmawan will be making her Olympic debut, having been selected in the Australian Artistic Swimming Team. Anastasia and the team qualified for Paris with a 10th-place finish at the 2023 World Aquatic Championships in Japan. The team’s recent record is promising, with two silver medals and one bronze secured at the World Aquatics Cup in Beijing in April.
Commerce student Hayley Verbunt will make her Olympic debut in the Australian Rowing team (the Rowsellas), where she will be coxswain of the Women's Eight. In June, Hayley coxed the Women's Eight to a gold medal at the World Rowing Cup III in Poland.
Doctor of Physiotherapy student Georgia-Rose Brown will represent New Zealand in Artistic Gymnastics. After winning three Commonwealth Games medals for Australia and representing the country five times at the World Championships, Georgia-Rose made the decision to switch to New Zealand late last year. In January, the change was accepted by the International Olympic Committee, and she secured qualification points for Paris by competing in the 2024 FIG World Cup series.
Alums
World Champion Sam Williamson will be a serious medal contender in the pool in the Men's 100m Breastroke and Medley Relay. The Science alum won gold in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha. Sam is also a Commonwealth Games champion from Birmingham in 2022.
Joining Jemima Montag and Rebecca Henderson in Australia’s 20km Race Walk contingent is Science graduate Kyle Swan. This will be Kyle’s second Olympic Games after his debut in Tokyo.
Biomedicine and Medicine alum Elena Galiabovitch is heading to her third Olympic Games in Paris. The shooter who competes in the Women’s 25m Pistol and 10m Air Pistol events has four Commonwealth Games medals. Elena is a physician by profession and was one of the six athletes the IOC chose to carry the Olympic Flag at the Tokyo Opening Ceremony in recognition of her work as a frontline worker during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian record holder in the Women's 800m, Catriona Bisset (Master of Architecture and Diploma in Languages alum) will be heading to her second Olympic Games in Paris. Bisset is also a member of the Melbourne University Athletics Club. Law and Arts alum Ben Buckingham will join Bisset in the Athletics team for his second Games and will compete in the Men's 3000m Steeplechase.
Professional cyclists Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Science alum) and Grace Brown (Arts alum) have both been selected for the Road Cycling Team and will compete in the Women's Road Race and Individual Time Trial.
Joining Hayley Verbunt in the Rowsellas, Melbourne Business School alum Jessica Morrison will compete in the Women's Pair. Morrison won gold in Tokyo as part of the Women's Four. Science alum Ria Thompson will also be looking to win another Olympic medal after a bronze in Tokyo in the Women's Quadruple Sculls. Faculty of Veterinary and Agriculture Sciences alum Sarah Hawe joins Verbunt in the Women's Eight for her second Olympic Games.
Former Arts student Campbell Harrison was one of the first Australian athletes to be confirmed for Paris. The qualification was an incredibly emotional moment for Campbell, as he has been chasing this dream for eight years. He had decided to give up the chance to secure a place in Tokyo, where sport climbing made its debut, due to COVID-19 restrictions and his sister’s cancer diagnosis.
The University will also be represented in Paris by Doctor of Medicine graduate Alice McNamara, who will be travelling with Australia’s Women’s Basketball Team as the Team Doctor of the Opals.
Clubs
Melbourne University Boat Club (MUBC) member Lucy Stephan, who won gold in the Women's Four in Tokyo alongside Jessica Morrison will row in the Women's Eight in Paris The Boat Club are well represented across the Rowsellas, with Amanda Bateman in the Women's Double Sculls, Jean Mitchell in the Women's Four, Simon Keenan in the Men's Pair and Ben Canham in the Men's Eight.
Melbourne University Athletics Club (MUAC) member and former Science student Joel Baden will be jumping for gold in the Men's High Jump.
Beach Volleyballer Thomas Hodges was a member of the Melbourne University Blues Volleyball Club that won the Australian Volleyball League in 2010.
Read more about each athlete competing in Paris on our Olympic Games page.