UTS Business School Students Making Waves at 2012 London Olympics
25 July 2012
Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images Sport
Gavin Woods and Lucinda Whitty, both Business School students at the University of Technology, Sydney, are gearing up in preparation for the beginning of the 2012 London Olympic Games this week.
Woods, 34, is a veteran of the Olympics circuit, having represented Australia in men’s water polo at every Olympic Games since 2000. He’s lauded as the most experienced player in the country, having represented Australia at over 300 international events since joining the national team, the Sharks, in 1997. The team has high hopes for reaching the podium this year, after coming 9th in Athens and 8th in Beijing.
Whitty, 22, is making her Olympic debut, after building up a resume of impressive accomplishments in Match Racing Sailing over the last few years. She and her Australian team mates won the ISAF World Women’s Match Racing Championships in 2009, and Lucinda was named both Australian Female Sailor of the Year and Australian University Female Athlete of the Year in 2010. Her team’s achievements this year put them in good stead for the Olympics, with three podium finishes at international events since the beginning of 2012.
Gavin and Lucinda are joined by fellow UTS student Hayder Shkara (Communications/Law), who qualified for the Taekwondo Shadow Squad, and UTS alumni Nina Curtis (Human Movement) – another member of the Women’s Match Racing Squad – and Joanne Brigden Jones (Nursing) in Kayak. The Business School boasts two more Olympic alumni with Tim Leatheart (B. Business 2008-2011) in the Athletics 4x100 Relay and James Chapman (B. Business, Accounting 2001-2007) in Rowing.
Both Gavin and Lucinda begin their Olympic stints on Day 2 of the Olympics, this Sunday 29th of July, with the Sharks facing off against Italy in their first match at 2.10pm GMT, and the Women’s Elliott 6m round robin starting at 1.30pm GMT.
