Sam Short will showcase the skill he began developing at St William’s School Grovely when he becomes one of many Brisbane Catholic Education alumni representing Australia at the Paris Olympic Games.
Short started squad training for swimming when he was a student at St William’s with his older sister and younger brother.
He’s since returned to the school to show current students some of the rewards of a swimming career that puts him into the Paris Games as the reigning men’s 400m freestyle world champion.
He’s one of several former BCE students to compete in Paris, stretching across southeast Queensland schools and including:
- Ellie Beer (Athletics) Marymount College Burleigh Waters
- Aly Bull (Canoe Sprint) Siena Catholic College Sippy Downs
- Ella Connolly (Athletics) St Eugene College Burpengary/ St Peter’s College Caboolture/ St Columban’s College Caboolture
- Georgia Courage-Gardiner (Artistic Swimming) Aquinas College Ashmore
- Caitlin Cronin (Rowing) Mater Dei Catholic Primary School Ashgrove
- Lizzy Dekkers (Swimming) St Columba’s Primary School, Wilston
- Matthew Hauser (Triathlon) Xavier Catholic College Hervey Bay
- Clare Polkinghorne (Football) St Martin’s Catholic Primary School Carina
- Zoe Poulis (Artistic Swimming) Aquinas College Ashmore
- Ella Ramsay (Swimming) St Mary’s Primary School Ipswich
- Sam Short (Swimming) St William’s Primary School Grovely
- Kaitlin Shave (Women’s Rugby Sevens) Clairvaux MacKillop College Upper Mount Gravatt
- Nick Sloman (Marathon Swimming) St Teresa’s Catholic College Noosaville
- Jacob Whetton (Men’s Hockey) Clairvaux MacKillop College Upper Mount Gravatt
Short qualified for the men’s 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle in which he gained gold, silver and bronze respectively at last year’s world titles.
He has been back to St William’s to speak with students, taking his Commonwealth Games gold and silver medals from Birmingham in 2022.
“I enjoyed going back to the school because I went there with my older sister and younger brother,” Short said.
“I was at the school when I started proper squad training for swimming. I was playing rugby league and soccer when I was young too but decided to really go with swimming.”
It was a wise choice for Short who is among the medal favourites in all three events that he will contest.
Clare Polkinghorne is the most capped player in the history of Australia’s beloved women’s soccer team, and she will chalk up her third Olympic Games in Paris.
Polkinghorne was one of 18 players named in a Matildas squad that is seeking its first Olympics medal after finishing fourth in the latest Tokyo Olympics.
The Matildas will aim to move through a pool featuring Zambia and former gold medallists USA and Germany.
Aly Bull has also reached her third Olympics – a wonderful achievement for the former Siena Catholic College student who turned to kayaking from her surf lifesaving career to ensure she could reach the Games.
Australia’s athletics team includes 400m sprinter Ellie Beer in her second Olympics and Ella Connolly in her first Olympic Games.
Connolly graduated from St Columban’s College where her father Mike is the school Principal.
Former Aquinas College students Zoe Poulis and Georgia Courage-Gardiner are part of Australia’s artistic swimming team. The pair featured in the Australian duet team at last year’s world championships.
They are set for their first Olympic competition after Courage-Gardiner was a reserve in Tokyo, gaining an in-depth understanding of Games preparation.
Former Mater Dei student Caitlin Cronin won a bronze medal in the women’s quadruple scull in Tokyo and returns to the Olympics to compete in the same event.
Matthew Hauser comes into his second Olympics as one of the top-ranked triathletes in the world. The former Xavier Catholic College student finished 24th in his individual event in Tokyo.
Nick Sloman has been rewarded for his dedication to swimming with his first Olympic selection in the open water team.
The former St Teresa’s Catholic College student will compete in the 10km event.
Ella Ramsay, a former student of St Mary’s Primary School Ipswich, has followed her father Heath with Olympic selection. Heath swam in the 2000 Sydney Games while Ella has three events in Paris including the 200m and 400m Individual Medley and the 200m breaststroke.
Lizzy Dekkers is among the favourites in the women’s 200m butterfly. The former student of St Columba’s Primary School, Wilston claimed a silver medal at the world championships last year before winning the event at the national swimming trials in June.
Clairvaux MacKillop College is cheering on two former students in teams that have won gold medals for Australian in previous Olympics. Kaitlin Shave is part of the women’s rugby sevens team while Jacob Whetton is a member of hockey’s Kookaburras.