Monash
athletes aim for gold in Beijing
13 August 2008
Thirteen elite athletes from Monash have achieved their dreams of
competing in Beijing.
Swimming champion Brenton Rickard, former member of the Monash University
Swim Club and Science graduate, has qualified for the Olympics in the 100m
and 200m breaststroke.
Arts graduate Catriona Sens will compete for Australia in the double scull
rowing and Computing graduate and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Travis
Brooks is in the men's hockey team.
Fifth-year medical student David Zalcberg qualified for the men's singles
and team table tennis, Peninsula campus fitness centre member Erin Densham
is in the women's triathlon and second-year law student Catherine Arlove is
lining up for her third and final tilt at Olympic gold in Judo.
Doug Ellis Swimming Pool staff member Daniel Lee will compete for the Sri
Lankan Olympic swimming team and Biomedical Science student Liying Toh is in
the Singaporean team for sailing.
Former Monash students Tania Luiz, Eugenie Tanaka and Karen Foo-Kune
(Mauritius) are also competing in badminton at the Beijing Olympics and
Patrick Murphy is in the 100m and 200m freestyle relays.
Arlove, who is one of nearly 100 athletes receiving an Elite Athlete Support
bursary, said there were often difficulties of combining a professional
sporting career with a law degree.
“A Bachelor of Law is time intensive but the Olympics stop for no one. I
have to do 20 to 30 hours a week of physical training and the hardest part
is getting enough sleep so you’re performing at your best potential,” she
said.
Arlove is assisted by Monash Sport’s elite athlete support program, which
offers a range of free services to help manage such challenges.
“They have a comprehensive array of services so when I need recovery I have
pool, spa, sauna and full gym. Having it locally really helps and the long
opening hours is good for my busy lifestyle.”
Peninsula campus fitness centre member Charlotte Saville will compete in the
200m and javelin at the Beijing Paralympics in September.
First-year Arts/Science student Jessica Walters was unlucky to miss
selection for the archery team after being picked in the shadow Olympic
squad.
The medical team travelling to Beijing to oversee the health of the
Australian team also includes Monash alumni. Of the team’s five senior
doctors, three are Monash alumni. Head of the medical team, Dr Peter Baquie
(GradDipOccEnvH 1994) is joined by alumnae Drs Susan L White (MBBS(Hons)
1989) and Karen Holzer (MBBS 1992, PhD 2005). Dr White is the head swimming
team doctor, while Dr Holzer is an expert in asthma in sportspeople and has
helped to prepare the team for problems due to Beijing’s pollution.
For information on events happening at Monash Sport during the Olympics,
visit: http://sport.monash.edu.au/promotion/olympic-spirit.html
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Catherine Arlove practising for the
Olympics
Travis Brooks (left) |
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