Student athletes who went for gold in both their academic and sporting endeavours this year were celebrated at the 2024 Griffith University Blues Awards
As well as inducting two of the university’s alumni into its Sport Hall of Fame, the annual awards night featured a new Junior Athlete of the Year category. That special honour recognised a Griffith University student athlete who represented Australia at an international underage level.
Torrie Lewis (Bachelor of Cyber Security) was named as the inaugural recipient to recognise her efforts as a debut Olympian who made waves at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The awards evening also celebrated the First Peoples Athlete of the Year, a new category aimed at honouring an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander athlete actively studying at Griffith University, who showed outstanding athletic performance over the past year.
This year, the award went to Leesa Mi-Mi (Bachelor of Education) a talented netballer who plays for the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
Mi-Mi played a pivotal role in her team reaching the final series and recently competed for Australia in the Fast Fives. She was presented with her award by Professor Jonathan Bullen, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Indigenous).
Recognising academic excellence in sport, the Academic Athlete of the Year award was presented to a Full Blue recipient who achieved the highest grade point average while balancing the demands of elite-level sport.
This 2024 awardee was Susan Seipel, a remarkable para-athlete who excelled both academically and in her sport of Para-canoe. Seipel, who is studying for a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), not only maintained an outstanding GPA but also had success at the 2024 Paralympics, taking the number of medals won at three Paralympic Games to three.
The night then moved to the highly anticipated Most Outstanding Athletic Achievement awards, which celebrated the athletes who have reached the pinnacle of their respective sports. These awards were fiercely contested, with many exceptional performances considered.
The Most Outstanding Athletic Achievement (able-bodied) award was presented to Jessica Fox, an MBA student and four-time Olympian, who performed extraordinary feats in Paris.
Fox made history by becoming the first athlete to win two canoe slalom golds at the same Olympic Games, extending her Olympic medal count to six – a record unmatched in her sport. Her success in Paris solidified her place as one of Australia’s greatest Olympians. While Fox couldn’t attend in person, she sent a heartfelt video message expressing her gratitude for the honour.
The Most Outstanding Athletic Achievement (para-athlete) award went to Tom Gallagher (Bachelor of Architectural Design), whose crowning glory was at the Paralympics. Gallagher won Australia’s first gold medal of the Games in the men’s S10 50m freestyle with a blistering time of 23.40. He also secured a bronze medal in both the 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke.
Alumni achievements honoured
A number of Griffith elite student athletes were also congratulated for achieving Half Blue and Full Blue awards.
Two Griffith alumni were inducted into the University’s Sports Hall of Fame with four-time Olympian Leisel Jones (Bachelor of Psychological Science (2023) and two-time Para-Olympian and wheelchair basketballer Matt McShane (Bachelor of Industrial Design 2020) joining the likes of Naomi McCarthy OAM, Sara Carrigan, and Robert Newberry.
