This year, JCU Sport had an outstanding crop of student athletes with a number of high achieving nominations.
JCU Sport are proud to announce Lydia Ogden and Sasha Belonogoff as our 2018 JCUSA Elite Athlete Scholarship recipients.
Lydia Ogden
Lydia is an outstanding athlete who has represented JCU in both Touch and Rugby 7's at Australian University Games. Lydia had a magnificent 2017 Australian University Games competition leading the JCU women's 7's team to fourth place before starring at the Australian National Sevens Championship for a combined Australian University team. To top off a great 2017, Lydia was named JCU Sportswoman of the Year. This year, Lydia has the chance to be JCU's first ever athlete to be named in the Uni Games Green and Gold team for a third time after previously making the 2016 & 2017 Green and Gold squads for Rugby 7s. In 2018 Lydia will be aiming to represent JCU all the way at the World University Games 7's competition held in Namibia. We wish Lydia all the best and look forward to supporting her this year.
Sasha Belonogoff
Alex 'Sasha' Belonogoff is an Australian Olympian who won a silver medal in the rowing quadruple sculls at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Last year Sasha led JCU's rowing team to a gold and bronze medal at the Australian University Games (JCU's first Gold Medal since 2014). It was JCU's first ever gold medal in rowing at the games and we are looking to build on that outstanding performance by supporting Sasha and the rest of the rowing team at Nationals in September! Following this event, Sasha has his sights set on returning to elite competition in the near future and we are excited to see what he can again achieve on the world stage.
Both Lydia and Sasha will be representing JCU in Rugby 7s and Rowing respectively at the 2018 Nationals (formally known as the Australian University Games) in September on the Gold Coast.
Congratulations once again to both Lydia and Sasha.