This article is sponsored by the University of Sydney. Authorised by Vice-Chancellor and President Prof. Mark Scott. Enquiries: 9351 2000; info.centre@sydney.edu.au
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A javelin star who combines athletics with a full-time career as a doctor. A water polo player competing just 15 months after giving birth to her baby daughter. These athletes are among the University of Sydney sporting stars in Paris to compete in the 2024 Olympics, which began on July 26.
Olympic qualifiers from the University of Sydney include seven current students, 13 alumni and 14 members of Sydney Uni Sport clubs – competitors in swimming, athletics, beach volleyball, wrestling, rowing, hockey and more. Others from the University community in Paris include three coaches and four reserve athletes.
Support for student Olympians
Many of the University’s Olympians have been supported throughout their careers by Sydney Uni Sport’s Elite Athlete Program. To help students combine high-level sport with study, the University offers financial, accommodation, health and wellbeing support, academic assistance, access to training and competition facilities, and high-performance programs.
Mackenzie Little: juggling javelin and medicine
For 27-year-old javelin thrower, Mackenzie Little, who graduated with a Doctor of Medicine last year, balancing sport and study at university helped prepare for an even greater challenge. This year, she has combined her preparation for the Olympics with the grueling full-time workload of a first-year doctor.
The week before Little departed for Europe to prepare for competition, she was rostered on for the night shift at Royal North Shore Hospital. After long shifts seeing patients, she would squeeze in two hours of javelin training, as well as study for the surgical training entrance exam she plans to take next year.
“It never occurred to me to take time off work before the Olympics,” said Little. “I spoke to the incredible Jana Pittman [who qualified as a doctor in 2020 after her career as an Olympic athlete] and she recommended I take the year off or work part-time. However, I didn’t feel that was the best approach for me. In medicine, it takes a long time to get into specialist training and you can lose momentum. If I was compromising myself academically, I think it would weigh upon me and put undue pressure on my athletic performance.”
The long hours on her feet in hospital would leave her legs feeling heavy, her ankles swollen and her knees hyperextended. She adapted her javelin technique to accommodate the changes in her legs, working on the timing and power of her throw.
Keesja Gofers: third-time Olympian and first-time mum
Another University star on the Australian Olympic team is alumna Keesja Gofers, who is competing in her third Olympics with the women’s water polo team, the Stingers. She is joined in Paris by her husband, Scott Nicholson, coach of the University of Sydney women’s water polo team, and their baby daughter, 15-month-old Teleri Nicholson.
“I’m so excited to have Teleri cheering me on in the stands,” said Gofers, who graduated with a Bachelor of Design in Architecture in 2012.
“Balancing motherhood with preparing for the Olympics is the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced. The physical stuff – like regaining muscle strength after birth – was the easy part. Then there’s the guilt of leaving your baby when you’re going to training, and not being able to do things on your own terms. I have a rule that however things go at training, I leave it there. When I come home, I’m my best self for my daughter. It’s made me a better athlete and a better mum.”
As well as the national team, Gofers plays with the Sydney Uni Lions – a club she has belonged to since she was 10. Her fellow Lions players, Matilda Kearns and Sienna Green, are also representing Australia in Paris.
“The uni has a consistently good team and its Elite Athlete Program provides important support when you’re balancing sport and study,” said Gofers. “I met my husband when we both lived at Sydney University Village as students, so the uni has been a big part of my life.”
The Paris Games is her second Olympics, after making her debut in 2021, while in the second year of her medical degree. She won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and bronze at the World Championships in Budapest last year.
“In Paris, I’d like to throw a personal best in the finals, which might line up with the medals,” she said. “But in competition, I’m trying to execute technically and think about how much I’ve already gained. A good performance in the Olympics would be icing on the cake.”
