Australia’s athletics team at the FISU World University Games has officially closed out its most successful World University Games campaign in history, topping the medal tally with 10 medals as burgeoning racewalker Elizabeth McMillen and the Women’s 4x100m Relay Team lead the UniRoos to a medal haul of five on the final day of competition in Bochum, Germany.
In one of the standout performances of the Games, Elizabeth McMillen (NSW, Jared Tallent) claimed gold in the Women’s 20km Race Walk, stopping the clock in 1:28:18 to break the FISU World University Games record and stamp her authority on the international stage ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Claiming her first global medal, McMillen led home a powerful contingent with Olympian Olivia Sandery (SA, Jared Tallent) finishing fifth in 1:30:16, Alexandra Griffin (WA, Jared Tallent) placing eighth in 1:32.46, and Alannah Pitcher (NSW, Frank Overton) rounding out the team in 13th with 1:34.42. Their collective efforts earned silver in the team standings, adding to Australia’s impressive legacy in the race walks.
The Men’s 20km Race Walk also saw Australia’s squad rise to the occasion. Will Thompson (VIC, Brent Vallance) led the way in fifth place (1:21.01) with Tim Fraser (ACT, Jared Tallent) just behind in sixth in 1:21:12. Already a global medallist in his own right, teenager Isaac Beacroft (NSW, David Beacroft) recorded a personal best of 1:22.37 to finish 10th, and Corey Dickson (ACT, Jared Tallent) added to the team’s success finishing in 19th in 1:25:58, securing silver for the Men’s team in a consistent and gutsy collective showing.
Rebecca Henderson (VIC, Simon Baker) also featured in the Women’s race, registering a DNF and Mitchell Baker (ACT, Jared Tallent) raced the Men’s event, disqualified with four red cards.
The medal success didn’t end with the walks, with Women’s 4x100m relay team racing to gold was Georgia Harris (QLD, Paul Pearce) Kristie Edwards (NSW, Andrew Murphy), Olivia Inkster (NSW, Katie Edwards) and Jessica Milat (VIC, Cathy Woodruff) lit up the track in 43.46, holding off a fast finishing Swiss team by just 0.01-seconds. The victory marked Australia’s fifth gold medal in the sport and Harris’ second after her earlier win in the individual 100m.
While the Women’s team celebrated, the Men’s 4x100m relay team of Joseph Ayoade (NSW, Greg Smith), Connor Bond (NSW, Mick Zisti), Christopher Ius (NSW, Andrew Murphy) and Aidan Murphy (SA, Nik Hagicostas) finished with mixed emotions. Stopping the clock at 38.89, the team were edged out of the medals in a photo finish, finishing fourth by the narrowest of margins as the Indian team took bronze.
Triple jumper Desleigh Owusu (NSW, Andrew Murphy) is one hop, step and jump away from becoming the first Australian woman to represent the country at a World Athletics Championships, soaring to bronze in Germany with a clutch leap of 13.86m (+0.9) for a new personal best. Landing only two legal jumps in her six-jump series, both valid marks were personal bests but it was her third round effort that sealed her spot on the podium and capped off a breakthrough performance.
In the Men’s Pole Vault, Aiden Princena-White (NSW, Zsuzsanna Olgyay-Szabo) cleared 5.35m to finish sixth over all, only missing out on the top-five due to countback, having missed once at 5.25m and twice at 5.35m.
In the Women’s 1500m, Klara Dess (VIC, Darren Gauson) ran smart and strong, placing fifth in 4:21.64, just under two seconds behind Switzerland’s gold medallist in 4:19.96 in a high quality field. Jack Lunn (VIC, Steve Fabris) closed out his three-race campaign in the 800m final with an eighth-place finish in 1:49.24.
The Australian UniRoos athletics team finished with 10 medals including five gold, two silver and three bronze, with a further 23 top-eight finishes. Replays of the World University Games can be viewed on FISU.TV
By Sascha Ryner, Australian Athletics
Posted: 28/7/2025
