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Uniroos to unleash: Australian athletics team braces for World University Games

Published Wed 24 May 2023

A green and gold contingent of 39 will battle it out at the 2023 FISU World University Games in Chengdu, China from 28 July – 8 August 2023.

Confirmed by Athletics Australia and UniSport Australia today, the Uniroos Athletics Team will consist of 11 past Australian representatives including two Commonwealth Games representatives, one World Athletics Championships representative and three athletes returning to the World University Games for the second time.

One of the world’s largest and most prestigious multi-sport events, the World University Games are a celebration of international university sports and draw thousands of student-athletes together to compete. The Games also encourage athletes to combine their high performance sporting ambitions with their intellectual pursuits.  

Sprint hurdler Jacob McCorry (Macquarie University) will make his second Universiade appearance, having made it to the semi finals at the 2019 edition.

With a breakthrough season behind him which included four wins from six over the Australian summer as well as a personal best of 13.48 at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix last week, McCorry said the opportunity to compete again at the World University Games signifies his progress in his pursuit of excellence.

“Any team selection is an honour. To me it symbolises a recognition of one’s significant progression in the sport. It has indeed been a breakthrough year for me under the guidance of Alex Stewart, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the team on and off the track around me. I fundamentally want to find the limit of my potential, and this team selection validates that I’m on the right track,” McCorry said.

The 25-year-old Applied Economics Masters student said four years between each championships means he will go to China as an entirely different athlete.

“The differential feels immense between the athlete I was in 2019 to now. I think at the specific time of Napoli, I was thinking “survive and advance,” and I nearly didn’t make the semi final,” McCorry said.

“I learnt in that moment, people will treat every round like a final and if you’re not on the limit, you’re at serious risk. But then to now, I could write an essay on the learnings and difference in approach that I have.”

A key pathway competition in the journey of many prolific Australian Olympians, the University Games act as a stepping stone for emerging young stars aiming for the Paris 2024 Olympics and 2026 Commonwealth Games. With more than 10,000 athletes from 150 countries competing, it also gives athletes a taste of high-level international competition in a championships setting.

To be eligible to compete, athletes must be undergraduate or graduate students between the ages of 17 and 28 or have graduated in the year immediately preceding the year of the event.

Athletics Australia General Manager, High Performance Andrew Faichney said the World University Games is a great platform for athletes to hone and develop their skills at a major championships.

“Athlete development hinges on providing competition opportunities and the World University Games gives these athletes the chance to be exposed to the rigours of international competition at a high level,” Faichney said.

“Our hope is that athletes use this experience to springboard their athletic careers and get an understanding of what it means to represent Australia.

“Australia has also had much success at the University Games, and I’m looking forward to seeing what this team can do to build on their careers.”

The 2023 edition of the Games were due to be held in 2021, but was rescheduled due to the impacts of COVID-19. The original 2021 team were recognised with formal selection and given the Australian team uniform that they would have competed in.

Note: It was previously reported that Liam Adcock, Matthew Hussey , Izzi Thornton-Bott, Ryan Tarrant, Jacob McCorry, and Luke Van Ratingen and Isaac Heyne were included on the team but have since withdrawn.

Zane Branco has now been selected for the Men's Long Jump, replacing Adcock. Georgia Winkcup has also been selected to compete in the Women's 3000m Steeplechase.

All updates to the team will be posted on this page. 

Australian Athletics team at the 2023 FISU World University Games

Men:

100m: Anas Abu Gaba (Tony Fairweather, Griffith University), Joshua Azzopardi (Rob Marks, ACPE)
200m: Christopher Ius (Andrew Murphy, University of Sydney)
400m: Reece Holder (Sharon Dale, Queensland University of Technology)
800m: Luke Boyes (Ben St Lawrence, UTS), Jack Lunn (Steve Fabris, Monash University)
10000m: Tim Vincent (Jackson Elliott, Queensland University of Technology)
Half Marathon: Vincent, Harrison Bagley (Michael Nitschke, University of Adelaide)
3000m Steeplechase: Liam Cashin (Peter Burke, Victoria University)
Long Jump:  William Freyer (Brett Clarke, University of Sydney), Zane Branco (David Reid, Griffith University)
Triple Jump: Aiden Hinson (Chloe Stevens, Deakin University), Connor Murphy (Andrew Murphy, University of Sydney)
20km Walk: Will Thompson (Brent Vallance, Australian Catholic University), Mitchell Baker (Jared Tallent, University of Canberra), Tim Fraser (Jared Tallent, University of Canberra), Dylan Richardson (Frank Overton, Newcastle University)
Decathlon: Alec Diamond (Zsuzsanna Olgyay-Szabo, Australian Catholic University), Colby Eddowes (Matt Vining, Arkansas State University)

Women:

100m: Kristie Edwards (David Reid, Charles Sturt University), Sam Geddes (John Nicolosi, Deakin University)
200m: Edwards, Carla Bull (Brett Robinson, Griffith University)
5000m: Holly Campbell (Jeremy Roffy, University of Sydney)
100m Hurdles: Imogen Breslin (Mick Zisti, Macquarie University), Emily Britton (Mick Zisti, Australian Catholic University)
3000m Steeplechase: Cara Feain-Ryan (Ben Norton, University of Queensland), Georgia Winkcup (Ben Liddy, College of Law)
Long Jump: Annie McGuire (Griffith University), Alyssa Lowe (Alex Stewart and Nicole Boegman-Stewart, University of Sydney)
Triple Jump: Desleigh Owusu (Andrew Murphy, Macquarie University)
Heptathlon: Camryn Newton-Smith (Ralph Newton and Matt Vining, Arkansas State University), Mia Scerri (Darren Clark, Monash University)
20km Walk:  Elizabeth McMillen (Bill Nappin, TAFE NSW), Samantha Findlay (Jared Tallent, Flinders University)

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 24/5/2023

Team list last updated on 28/6/2023


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