Griffith University students win 15 Olympic medals, so far

With 15 Tokyo medals, if Griffith University was a country it would rank equal with Germany and ahead of France.

Jess Fox, winner of a gold and a bronze medal in canoe slalom, is an MBA student at Griffith University and an alumna of Swinburne.

Griffith University is the runaway winner in the Tokyo games medal rankings with its students having won eight gold and seven bronze medals so far.

It owes its commanding lead to its roster of student swim stars. Swimming legend Emma “seven medals” McKeon is a Griffith student doing a bachelor of public health, and breaststroke sensation Zac Stubblety-Cook is studying psychology and business. And then there’s canoe slalom gold medallist Jess Fox who is an MBA student at Griffith as well as a Swinburne University graduate.

With eight golds in separate events, if Griffith was a country it would curently be ranked equal seventh in the world – on par with Germany and ahead of France.

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Griffith came agonisingly close to another medal on Saturday when discus thrower Matt Denny (bachelor of business) missed out on bronze by 5cm, “less than a beer can” as he put it.

Duncan Free, director of sports engagement at Griffith and a 2008 Olympic rowing gold medallist, said the university had 45 student and alumni athletes at the Tokyo games. He said the university’s sports college, which gives assistance to over 550 student athletes with access to training facilities and timetable and course flexibility, was able to given athletes the support they needed.

Griffith is not yet done at these games. If Australia wins its bronze medal football game against the US on Thursday, Griffith will be able to count as medallists Matildas stars Hayley Raso (bachelor of paramedicine), Clare Polkinghorne and Emily Gielnik (both bachelor of exercise science) and Elise Kellond-Knight (MBA).

Emma McKeon is a Griffith University public health student.

The university is also ready for the future with two up-and-coming track stars – both bachelor of business students – showing huge promise at the Tokyo games. Riley Day made the semi-final of the women’s 200m and Liz Clay made the semi-final of the women’s 100m hurdles.

After Griffith’s 15 medals there’s daylight, but then comes Queensland University of Technology with five medals so far – three gold, one silver and one bronze. QUT is helped by the fact that swim star sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell have studied at the university. Bronte is a bachelor of business student and Cate has partly completed a bachelor of communications. QUT also lays claim to Jack McLoughlin, a bachelor of engineering student who took silver in the 400m freestyle.

Queensland universities dominate swimming with Bond landing three bronze medals – two to MBA student Alex Graham in the 4x100m and 4x200m men’s freestyle relays and one to teammate Elijah Winnington in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

But Notre Dame University also shows well because triple swimming medallist Brianna Throssell is doing a pre-medicine degree there. And the University of South Australia has Kyle Chalmers who won silver in the 100m freestyle and two relay bronzes.

Now all eyes are on which university the 200m and 400m freestyle gold medallist Ariarne Titmus will choose to study at.

Zac Stubblety-Cook is a Griffith University psychology and business student.

Not surprisingly the Group of Eight universities — the favoured destination for private school kids — dominate in Australia’s rowing medals at the Tokyo games.

The University of Sydney picked up two golds for Alex Purnell and Jack Hargreaves, both members of the winning team in the men’s coxless four last Wednesday, as well as two bronze medals. The University of Queensland won two of its three bronze medals in rowing in the women’s quadruple sculls event. Team members Caitlin Cronin (alumnus) and Ria Thompson (student) are both linked to UQ.

Jessica Morrison, part of the gold medal winning women’s coxless four team, can be claimed by both the Australian National University, where she earned her bachelor of economics, and the University of Melbourne, where she did her MBA.

He’s not yet a medal winner but the University of Sydney already has track sensation Rohan Browning, who made the semi-final of the men’s 100m race, on its student list. He is studying arts/law.