News Archive

With the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games now finished, Australia stand firmly atop of the medal table, with an incredible 198 medals, including 80 gold.

The final events brought the “Friendly Games” to a close, with the next be held in Birmingham, England in 2022.

The six UWA-linked athletes that competed in the Games can all be pleased with their performances, posting a respectable medal tally themselves.

UWA Athletics Club’s Nina Kennedy and Liz Parnov were some of the last athletes to compete, coming up against each other in the women’s pole vault on Friday night.

With fellow Australian Kurtis Marschall taking gold in the men’s pole vault, the bar was raised for the women, both of whom had enjoyed strong seasons leading into the event.

Nina continued a fantastic year with a bronze medal, behind New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney and the new Games record holder Alysha Newman of Canada.

It seemed as if the 21-year-old could not miss, clearing every height until 4.60.

Liz finished in equal fifth place, sharing her 4.40 mark with England’s Molly Caudery.

Off the track and field and into the pool, UWA swimmers rode on the wave of success that Australia enjoyed, with at least one medal for each swimmer.

Blair Evans became the first Australian to win a medal in the pool, when she finished the 400m Individual Medley with bronze early on into the games.

Blair also competed in the 200m Individual Medley, where she finished fifth in the final, a tight race which saw just a second separate her and bronze-placed Aimee Wilmott.

Fellow UWA-West Coast Swimmer Brianna Throssell also enjoyed bronze early on in the Games, with a third placed finish on the all-Australian podium for 100m butterfly.

The 22-year-old then took her competition to the next level, forming a part of the gold-medal-winning and Commonwealth Games record-breaking Australian 4x200m freestyle relay team.

After previously passing on her spot in the Australian team for what became a world-record-breaking 4x100m final, the gold gave her plenty to smile about.

UWA alumni Holly Barratt also found success in the pool, taking out silver in the 50m butterfly in between Australians Cate Campbell and Madeline Groves.

The same night also saw UWA-West Coast’s Zac Incerti follow his team mates, claiming bronze in the 50m backstroke behind Mitch Larkin and Benjamin Treffers.

Broome product Zac qualified fastest for the semi-finals after winning his heat earlier on in the day.

Many athletes will now turn their attention to two years of training, with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics now on the horizon.

Media references

Louis Humberstone

Graduate Officer, UWA Sport Marketing, Communication and Events

[email protected]

6488 3768