13 June 2019
With just over a month to go until the opening ceremony of the 30th Summer Universiade, 10 student-athletes from the University of Melbourne are juggling their studies whilst preparing for the competition. Commencing July 3 in Naples, Italy, the Summer Universiade is an elite international sporting event which takes place every two years in a different city.
Five female students from the University are representing the UniRoos. Catriona Bisset (Master of Architecture and Diploma in Languages) is competing in the 800m after recently becoming the first Australian woman since 2008 to record a sub two-minute 800m. Bisset is looking to emulate this outstanding performance in the Universiade.
Fresh off a big personal best at the UniNationals, Georgia Hansen (Bachelor of Commerce) will be running the 1500m while Elizabeth Hedding (2018 Bachelor of Commerce graduate) will compete in the long jump. 2018 Commonwealth Games 20km Racewalk champion Jemima Montag (Bachelor of Science) is excited to represent the UniRoos for the first time, as is Sophie Johnson (Bachelor of Commerce), who will be competing in Diving.
Edward Fitzgerald (Bachelor of Science) is representing the UniRoos team in Fencing, Noam Tidhar (Master of Structural Engineering) in Judo after striving to overcome a multitude of injuries recently, Nicholas Hallam (Bachelor of Commerce) in Water Polo, and Steven Phan (Doctor of Medicine) in Table Tennis.
Mackenzie Keenan (Master of Architecture) will represent New Zealand in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay, taking a break from her Architecture internship to do so.