Day 2 of Uni Nationals has once again done nothing but rock our socks off. Are our Tiger athletes from another planet some of you have asked? I think that should be considered a very real and plausible possibility. The brawn, the mettle, and the sheer ingenuity of our tigers, does seem to point towards the genetic makeup of higher life forms. Whether our Tigers herald from a different planet, or an alternative dimension, is a point of academic contention that will be discussed by the QUT SPORTS department for weeks to come. Regardless of the planet our Tigers come from, we had some fantastic results today, sure to make you jump out of bed in the morning.
Our very own QUT Tiger praying it won't be the unlucky recipient of butter fingers
Fresh off the Australian Athletics Championships, Sydney was very lucky to have Lachlan Caldwell make a grand return in the Open Men's High Jump Final. Lachlan has presence, with the crowd going wild whenever they have the pleasure to catch a glimpse of him. Today Lachie continued to cement himself as a brilliant high jumper. He was able to jump a heigh of 2.03m to win the silver medal. Time appeared to unfold in slow motion as Lachlan launched into the air, and arched his back, as a grand gesture of affection to the Sydney Harbour Bridge for it's similar arch. It was hard to determine who did it better: the bridge or Lachie. He then came crashing down into the all too familiar embrace of the High Jump mat with a look of triumphant ecstasy. Bravo Lachie for such a great performance.
Can't tell if Lachlan or the Sydney Harbour bridge after the breathtaking performance.
In the Open Women's High Jump we had the fantastic Erika Gage compete for the first time at Uni Nationals. Erika was a master of "gauging" the requirements for her jump, as her namesake, and I'm sure her family crest suggests. Erika looked to the heavens for inspiration, before channeling her whole family history/legacy into a series of majestic perfectly gauged jumps. The bar symbolised all the adversity in her life, and Erika knew similarly to life, that she would leap over all these presented obstacles.
Miss Gauge jumped a total height of 1.55m. I take my hat off to you Erika, and vehemently scream a "yehhaww"for your ears. I don't know how you do it. The last time I tried high Jump, I actually hit the bar and flipped over it at less than 1m: an experience that scarred me for life. Brilliant effort at your first uni games Erika. Hope to see you at future meets during the year.
Erika also emulating the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the god like arch.
The Open's 100m semi finals saw Nicholas Beall return to the track, running a time more sizzling than a korean hot pot meal. Nicholas ran a time of 11.21 seconds in the third heat to come fifth. When I first saw this result I felt a mixture of envy, and admiration swell inside me. This led me to pore over the latest cutting edge academic sport journal literature to deduce the secret behind Nick's power. Congratulations on a fantastic season Mr Beall, and look forward to seeing you at the track later this year, where we can discuss sport academia.
The results are in. "Nick is an absolute beast on the track" - Journal of Sport 2019.
In the Open Women's Discuss throw we had a very special Qut Tiger Compete: the one, the only, our indomitable QUT Athletics President Casey Sims. Our highly esteemed and distinguished Casey created an uproar with her presence on the field. Onlookers were ecstatic at her arrival, beating their chests so hard, you'd think you'd wandered past the gorilla enclosure at Alma Park zoo. When Casey threw the discuss she let loose a sign of relief, because for just one moment she felt at peace, directing her attention at something other than cutting edge hamstring research. Congratulations Casey for your contributions to Discus, sports academia, and my life in general. Let me wipe a tear away now.
Casey hoping the Gorillas stop making outrageous noise for her.
We had two wild Sophies compete in the Open Women's 400m prelims today. Both shared the same name, but more importantly the same fiery tiger spirit. Firstly Sophie Winter belted down the track, to run a time of 61.56 to come third in her heat. Additionally Sophie Henderson ran a time of 66.63 during her race. Both these delightful ladies took on the lactic hell lap that is the 400m. Whilst not smiling at the end of their races, Sophie and Sophie certainly made us smile, at the strength of their resolve, and the quality of their Tigership (yes, I'm making tigership a thing). Congratulations Sophies, on a great effort this season. Not everyone can pull of the 400m but you two certainly did. Bravo.
Sophie and lactic acid are a good partnership.
