In summary

  • Eight Swinburne students and alumni are participating in the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo
  • Four are representing Australia at the Olympics, competing in rowing, football, canoe and kayak slalom, and gymnastics
  • Andrew Harrison and Matthew Levy will be representing Australia in wheelchair rugby and para-swimming at the Paralympic Games

With Olympic fever taking over the country, Swinburne students and alumni are making their mark at the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Meet the eight Swinburne superstars you can cheer on as they take to the world stage. 

2020 Olympics (23 July – 8 August 2021) 

Amanda Bateman

Amanda Bateman is a Swinburne Bachelor of Arts student who won the B Final Rowing Double Schulls on 28 July with Tara Rigney.

Originally from Melbourne, Bateman is a national champion and has represented Australia at underage and senior world championships.

Having put in an impressive performance over the last two years, Bateman is tipped with a chance at a podium finish.

Stephanie Catley

A Bachelor of Education (Primary) student, Stephanie Catley is part of Australia’s Matildas Football team who placed fourth at the Games.

Catley made her senior team debut with the Matildas in 2012 and has since been the captain of Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and the vice-captain of the Matildas for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

In 2020 she signed with Women’s Super League club Arsenal, England.

‘I’m honoured to be selected for my second Olympic games,’ she said on Instagram. 

Jessica Fox

Jessica Fox graduated from Swinburne’s Bachelor of Social Science in 2017 and is competing in the canoe and kayak slalom events.

Born in France and raised in New South Wales, Fox also competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. As the holder of the title ‘World’s Greatest Paddler’, she became the first athlete to achieve the ‘triple double’, by winning both C1 and K1 titles across three World Cup events in 2018, among other accolades.

After winning the bronze medal in the finals of the kayak slalom on 27 July, she placed first in the canoe slalom finals on 29 July with the fastest time of 105.04. 

 

Tyson Bull

In between studying a Master of Physiotherapy at Swinburne, Tyson Bull placed fifth in the men’s gymnastics horizontal bar finals.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Bull was a student-athlete at the University of Illinois from 2014-2018.

The only Australian male representative in the artistic gymnastic events at the Games, Bull’s Tokyo results have already topped his 2019 world championship score of 14.366 on the horizontal bars.

‘It’s incredibly uplifting knowing I’ve got so much support behind me back home and around the world,’ he said on Instagram. 

Katherine Jacewicz

Our Bachelor of Psychological Sciences student Katherine Jacewicz is not competing at the Games, but will making the calls as one of the main referees at the football matches.

Jacewicz has been recognised as W-Leage Referee of the Year a record eight times and was the first female referee to officiate an A-League match. Of the 25 referees, Jacewicz is one of two Australian main referees selected.

Jacewicz began playing football but after realising she was not going to succeed at a professional level, she changed her role on the field.

‘When the W-League started I think that was a really big stepping stone for myself and I think a lot of female referees in general,’ she told the ABC.

Mubal Azzam Ibrahim

Mubal Azzam Ibrahim is a Swinburne civil engineering student from the Maldives, who placed sixth representing his country in the men’s 100-metres freestyle heats on 27 July.

After setting four national records at the 2017 world championships in Budapest, Ibrahim was named as the 2017 Most Promising Athlete at the Mihaaru Awards.

His biggest ambition is to compete at the Olympic Games.

2020 Paralympics (24 August - 5 September 2021)

Andrew Harrison

A student of Swinburne’s Advanced Diploma of Building Design, Andrew Harrison will be competing in wheelchair rugby at the Paralympics beginning in August. The team placed fourth overall.

Harrison was introduced to the sport when he was 17 and within a few years represented Australian at the 2007 Chris Handy Cup in New Zealand.

The Order of Australia recipient has won two Paralympic medals with the Steelers Wheelchair Rugby team and is tipped to be in with a chance to bring home a third in Tokyo. 

Matthew Levy

Matthew Levy studied a Bachelor of Business (Management) at Swinburne and is competing in his fifth Paralympic Games. Levy won gold in the Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay - 34 points final, bronze in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke SB6 Final and placed fifth in the Men's 50m Freestyle - S7.

Originally in the pool for rehabilitation after being diagnosed with cerebral palsy and vision impairment, he realised he could make a career out of this time.

Levy is the world-record holder in the men’s 200m freestyle, and with one gold, one silver and four bronze medals under his belt, he is well equipped to succeed in Tokyo.

‘It’s amazing and an honour to be selected. To be selected in one Games is amazing, but to be taking part in my fifth is pretty unreal,’ he says.

Congratulations to all of our Swinburne participants!

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