Sydney University Athletics Club will field nine at of the 36-strong Australian track and field team for the 28th Summer Universiade to be held in Gwanju, Korea, from July 3-14.
SUAC’s four male representatives include Nicholas Hough in the 110m hurdles and 4X100m relay, Joshua Ralph in the 4X400m relay, Jin Su Jung in the 100m and 4X100m relay and Angus Armstrong in the pole vault.
The club’s five female representatives include Anneliese Rubie and Kate Spencer in the 400m, Michelle Jenneke in the 100m hurdles. Nicola McDermott in the high jump, and Alix Kennedy in the discus throw.
Jenneke, who is studying for a Bachelor of Mechatronics (a combination of mechanical and electrical engineering), became the second fastest Australian hurdler of all time when she finished second behind Sally Pearson at the recent Australian Championships in Brisbane.
Armstrong, 18, became the youngest ever winner of the Australian pole vault title in Brisbane, while Hough is one of six athletes return for their second Universiade. He reached the semi-finals of the 100m and 200m at Kazan, Russia in 2013. Kennedy also competed at Kazan, while Rubie competed in the 2011 edition in Shenzhen, China.
The 2015 Australian team features three IAAF world championship-bound athletes in Hough (110m hurdles), Jenneke 100m hurdles and Madeline Heiner (5000m and 3000m steeplechase).
“The overriding selection principle for the Summer Universiade is that of inclusion for all eligible athletes,” Athletics Australia chairman of selectors Dion Russell said.
“We have selected a team that includes many realistic finalists, even medallists, at the event, as well as many athletes who are seen as future Australian representatives at events including the IAAF World Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.
“We encourage all athletes chosen to relish the opportunity provided and to use the competition experience as a means of developing their ability to compete for our country on the world stage.”
The Summer Universiade is held every two years under the banner of the International University Sports Federation. Athletics (track and field) has been a fixture of the competition schedule since the Universiade began in Turin, Italy, in 1959. However, Australia had its first athletics competitor in the 1937 edition of the Games in Paris.
