Get ready to cheer on Team Deakin at the 2020 Tokyo Games!
The rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are now only a few sleeps away! What a journey it’s been for the hardworking athletes who are about to represent Australia on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Last week, we profiled Deakin psychology student Ezi Magbegor, who’s chasing basketball gold with the Australian Opals. Ezi will be donning the green and gold alongside a number of other Deakin elite-athlete students and alumni, who will be representing both their uni and their country with pride.
Meet Team Deakin and get ready to follow their Olympic dreams over the next few weeks! Follow Team Deakin – we’ve profiled each of our elite-athlete students and alumni, and listed their event schedules, so you can catch every moment of them going for gold!
Current Deakin students
Hana Basic: Athletics (100m) – Olympics
Bachelor of Health and Physical Education student Hana is making her Olympic debut in Tokyo. Setting consistent new personal bests throughout 2021, she’s now the fourth-fastest Aussie female sprinter of all time, with a PB of 11.18 seconds.
Ezi Magbegor: Basketball – Olympics
At her first Olympics, psychology student and professional basketballer Ezi is one of the keys to the Australian Opals in their gold medal quest. She helped secure the 2020 WNBA Championship for Seattle Storm and was named the Betty Watson Australian Youth Player of the Year at the 2020 WNBL Awards for her dazzling season with the Deakin Melbourne Boomers.
Alex Viney: Rowing – Paralympics
Master of Business (Sport Management) student Alex joined the national team after only five months as a para athlete, winning gold at both the 2019 NSW State Championships and Australian National Championships. A Lifeline Community Custodian, Alex shared how she became a para athlete following a life-changing accident aged 18 that threatened to cut short her fledgling rowing career.
Campbell Watts: Travelling reserve for Rowing – Olympics
Talented rower Campbell, who’s studying a Bachelor of Property and Real Estate/Bachelor of Commerce, is a travelling reserve following an impressive series of World Rowing Championship wins in recent years. Claiming silver for the men’s quadruple scull in 2018, Campbell and team placed third in the quadruple scull semi-final at the 2019 event to qualify for the Olympics.
Nathan Pellissier: Table Tennis – Paralympics
Currently studying his Master of Professional Accounting and Finance, Nathan is debuting at his first Paralympics in Tokyo. Nathan claimed gold medals at three major international championships in 2017, including the Korean Para Open and the Taiwan Para Open. In 2018 Nathan won bronze medals at the Spanish Para Open and US Para Open.
Deakin alumni
Rebecca Allen: Basketball – Olympics
Olympic debutant Rebecca, who did a masters in marketing at Deakin, currently plays for both Arka Gdynia in Poland and New York Liberty in the WNBA. Representing the Opals, she won bronze at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, silver at the 2018 FIBA World Cup and bronze at the 2019 FIBA Asia Cup.
Rhydian Cowley: Athletics (50km Walk) – Olympics
Rhydian, who completed his Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin, has eight appearances in the green and gold at the highest levels, including Olympics and world championships. A new personal best of 1:20.19 in 2019 elevated him to number seven Australian all-time.
Blake Edwards: Water Polo – Olympics
Olympic debutant Blake is a former Bachelor of Commerce student. Captain of the 2013 and 2015 World University Games teams, Blake won World Cup silver with the Aussie Sharks in 2018 and in 2019 claimed bronze at the World Super League Finals.
Henry Frayne: Athletics (Long Jump and Triple Jump) – Olympics
Bachelor of Commerce graduate Henry is just the third Australian to compete in both the long and triple jump at the Olympics, and he placed an impressive seventh in the long jump at the 2016 Rio Games. Henry won his first national long jump title in 2021 with a leap of 7.97m.
Jessica Hansen: Swimming (100m Breaststroke) – Olympics
Jessica, who studied a Bachelor of Exercise Sport Science/Business (Sports Management) at Deakin, is off to her first Olympics, having nabbed the silver medal in the 2021 Olympic Trials. In her second world championship appearance in 2019, she won silver in the 4x100m medley relay.
Jeffrey Riseley: Athletics (1500m and 800m) – Olympics
Jeffrey, who completed a double degree in Exercise Sports Science and Sports Management, is heading to his fourth Olympics. After a five-year break from the national team, he remains arguably Australia’s best all-round middle-distance runner. He placed fifth in both the 800m and 1500m at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Lucy Stephan: Rowing – Olympics
Lucy, who studied a Bachelor of Arts at Deakin, is off to her second Olympics, following her appearance at Rio in 2016. An experienced rower, Lucy raced for the Australian Women’s Fours in 2018 and 2019, winning four golds, one silver and one bronze across the two seasons, including taking the top honours in the 2019 World Championships regatta.
Brooke Stratton: Athletics (Long Jump) – Olympics
A former Bachelor of Health Science student, Brooke placed an impressive seventh at the 2016 Rio Olympics, breaking the Australian long jump record (7.05m), and won silver at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. In 2019, she had a great year with four competitions over 6.70m, and placed 10th at the World Championships.
Rowena Webster: Water Polo – Olympics
Former Bachelor of Physical Education student ‘Rowie’ has notched 300 Test caps and will captain the team in Tokyo. Known as one of the toughest defenders in women’s water polo, this will be her third Games, after helping Australia win bronze against Hungary at the 2012 London Games.
Best of luck to all our Deakin athletes – we’re cheering you from home! The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be televised live and free exclusively on Seven and 7TWO, and simulcast in HD on 7plus.
Some photographs by Getty Images.
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