RMIT athletes perform on the world stage

RMIT athletes perform on the world stage

Students and alumni taste success at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Milly Tapper Gold Medal winner Milly Tapper (far left) with her teammates.

A crop of current students and alumni competed at the Commonwealth Games across a diverse range of events including track and field, cycling, table tennis, swimming and squash, finishing with an impressive six medals.

Milly Tapper, who is currently completing a Diploma of Conveyancing at RMIT, won table tennis gold in the Women’s Singles TT6-10.

Tapper was born with Brachial Plexus Erbs Palsy in her right arm, and was the first athlete to ever compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics in the same year.

Some of her career highlights include fourth place at the London Paralympics and winning bronze in the 2014 Para World Championships - the first Australian championship medal.

Business student Ashleigh McConnell won bronze in the Women’s S9 100m Backstroke, her first Commonwealth Games medal.

McConnell’s performance at the games continued her recent success, following a gold medal-winning, world-record breaking swim in the Women’s 4x100 at the Rio Paralympics.

Sally Tanner, Senior Co-ordinator of RMIT Sport, was thrilled with the University’s representation in the Games, congratulating all on their achievements.

“We are really looking forward to seeing an increase in our representation at these events, with the introduction of our new elite athlete program,” said Tanner.

“Providing more students with more opportunities for support is something we’re really excited to be able to do.”

RMIT is a proud signatory of the Australian Sport’s Commission’s Elite Athlete Friendly University Program, an initiative that acknowledges the extra support elite athletes may need to balance both the commitment to their studies and the intensive demands of their training.

A number of RMIT alumni also achieved great success at the games, with four medals awarded across weightlifting, track and field and cycling:

Story: Maddy Pattison

20 April 2018

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20 April 2018

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