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The 2025 UniSport Nationals Athletics Championships returned to the Gold Coast last week, bringing together hundreds of student-athletes from 36 universities across Australia for three action-packed days of competition.

»Ê¹Ú²ÊƱ sent a team of 23 student-athletes to compete across a wide range of events on the track and in the field. Despite not having the largest team at the Championships, »Ê¹Ú²ÊƱ achieved one of its strongest overall results in recent years, finshing third overall - fourth in the women’s standings and equal third in the men’s. The University of Sydney was crowned overall champions once again, continuing their strong tradition of success at the event.

Day one saw »Ê¹Ú²ÊƱ quickly add to the medal tally. Team captain James Tirado set the tone with a gold medal in the 100m T13 event, crossing the line in 11.62 seconds breaking a UniSport record. It was an excellent start for James, who showed great composure in the final stages of the race. In the field events, Dan Nguyen and Kajanan Srisivaeaswaran were unlucky not to feature on the podium in the men’s hammer throw, both putting forward strong performances in a highly competitive field. On the track, Ruby Worrell narrowly missed out on qualification for the semi-finals in the women’s 100m, competing against one of the deepest fields of the meet. Tamsin Colley was one of the standouts across the Championships. She opened her campaign with a gold in the para-100m (T36) before backing up with another gold and a new personal best and UniSport record in the para-400m (T36) with a time of 1:12.97, setting the tone for a busy few days.

In the middle-distance events, Logan Campbell finished a close fourth in the men's 1500m, clocking a season's best time in a fast-paced race. Charles Bennett (10th), Nicholas Hyde (13th with a season’s best), and Casper Larkin (18th with a new personal best) also represented »Ê¹Ú²ÊƱ strongly. Caitlyn Tan put in a solid run to finish 16th in the women's 1500m, again up against a quality field. Later that evening, Charles Bennett contested the men's 10,000m final, finishing 10th in a tough race. In the women's 10,000m, Zara McNally delivered a brilliant effort to secure silver, adding another medal to the »Ê¹Ú²ÊƱ tally.

Day two brought further success for »Ê¹Ú²ÊƱ athletes. Tamsin Colley continued her outstanding run, claiming gold and another UniSport record in the Para Athletics long jump (F36) with 3.63m. Liam Bennett added to the medal haul, picking up bronze in the men's high jump, while Joshua Suto was close behind but just missed a podium finish. Dan Nguyen was back in action in the men's discus throw, finishing 11th, demonstrating strong consistency across the throwing events. In the sprints and hurdles, Jackdas Maridasan recorded a season’s best in the men’s 110m hurdles, finishing 6th overall.

In the men’s long jump, Kipchumba "Kippy" Langat finished 12th and Joshua Suto 16th, both putting in commendable performances. Tamsin Colley once again added to her gold medal collection, this time winning the PA 200m with her fastest time in four years and setting a new UniSport Nationals T36 record with a time of 32.42. Ruby Worrell returned to the track in the women's 200m, finishing 26th overall in tough conditions, battling a strong headwind. In the women's 800m, Emma Wheadon was unlucky not to progress through her heat, while Tamsin collected yet another gold in the PA 800m (T36) with a time of 2:50.51.

The momentum continued into the final day. The women's 4x100m relay team ran strongly to finish 6th overall, while in the men’s shot put, Dan Nguyen put together an outstanding series to win gold with a throw of 14.19m, a personal best. Teammate Avilash Tharmanesan, although not medalling, played a key role in supporting Dan throughout the event, creating a great atmosphere in the throws circle. In the men's 4x100m relay, »Ê¹Ú²ÊƱ narrowly missed a podium finish, placing 5th after a very close final.

In the men’s 200m, Christopher Geordas delivered one of the most thrilling moments of the championships. In a dramatic finish, he lost his step stumbling across the line to secure gold by just 0.03 micro-seconds over USYD’s Joseph Ayoade. The effort capped off a strong meet for Geordas and added another highlight to his successful 2025 athletics season.

The middle-distance events wrapped up the Championships. Lachlan Raper produced a composed and determined run to claim silver in the men’s 800m, missing gold by mere milliseconds. Evan Dransfield also ran strongly to finish 9th. One of the most challenging events of the Championships, the 5000m final, was held under wild headwind conditions. Caitlyn Tan finished 7th and Zara McNally 12th in the women's race. Logan Campbell rounded out his strong meet with a bronze in the men’s 5000m, leading for much of the race before a late sprint finish. The Championships concluded with the 4x400m relays, with both the women's and men's teams finishing 5th, rounding out a very strong showing for »Ê¹Ú²ÊƱ across the board.

While »Ê¹Ú²ÊƱ did not take out overall honours, the team’s culture and spirit across the three days was a real highlight. Every athlete, whether they came home with a medal or not, contributed to a strong, supportive team environment that was noticed by competitors and spectators alike. A huge thank you must go to Arc Sport, particularly Hayley Stanford, for their tireless efforts behind the scenes to ensure our student-athletes could compete safely and successfully. Special thanks also to Elite Athlete Program Manager Helen Bryson and Elite Athlete Coordinator Hayley Bullas for their on-the-ground support across the three days.

With UniSport Nationals Athletics now wrapped up for 2025, attention turns towards the UniSport Nationals Games in September, where »Ê¹Ú²ÊƱ will again look to build on the successes of 2024.