As we anticipate the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, we acknowledge our alumni who have competed at the Olympic Games in the past.
The College’s earliest connection with the Olympic Games dates from 1906, when Nigel Barker (Fr 1908) represented Australia in Athletics at the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, where he won bronze in the 100m and 400m. The Intercalated Olympic Games were to be a series of International Olympic Games held halfway between what is now known as the Games of the Olympiad. However, the only such Games were held in 1906. Barker was an Engineering student at the University of Sydney and a talented all-rounder who also played representative rugby. Barker was selected for the 1904 St. Louis Games but was ruled out with an ankle injury, sustained playing rugby. He is regarded as the holder of Australia’s first athletics world record, in the 400 yards. The University of Sydney awards the Nigel C Barker Medal for Sport Achievement named in his honour.
Forbes Carlile MBE (Fr 1940) studied Human Physiology at the University of Sydney achieving his Master of Science Degree. Carlile found success coaching swimmers, evidenced by his appointment as Australian Olympic Coach at the 1948 London Games. He was Australian Head Coach again at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Scientific Advisor at the 1960 Rome Games, and Head Coach of the Dutch team at the 1964 Tokyo Games. Carlile’s selection as Australia’s first modern pentathlete at the Helsinki 1952 Olympics gave him the unique distinction of being the first Australian to first coach and then compete at an Olympic Games.
Glenn Kable (Fr 1981) was a member of Australia’s first Trap Team to win a World Championship, at Tampere, Finland in 1999. Overlooked for selection in the Australian team for the Sydney 2000 games, Glenn established the Shooting Association of Fiji, a country with which his family had a long association. He went on to represent Fiji at the 2002 – 2014 Commonwealth Games, the 2004 – 2016 Olympic Games, and multiple World Championships and Pacific Games.
Water polo player Hannah Buckling (Fr 2010) made her senior debut in 2011, the same year she won a Sydney University Sport & Fitness / St Andrew’s College Foundation Award for water polo. Balancing sport and study, Hannah received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Sydney in 2014, returning to study for a post-graduate medical degree during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hannah represented Australia at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games, with the Stingers making it to the quarter-finals at both tournaments.
Although she grew up in a family of passionate sailors, Jaime Ryan (Fr 2013) didn’t start sailing until she was 15 years old. Seven years later, she made her Olympic debut, alongside her brother Will, at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Jaime raced with Carrie Smith in the women’s 470 class, with the pair achieving 15th place. Jaime swapped to the 49erFX class for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing 13th overall with her crewmate Tess Lloyd.
James Matheson (Fr 2014) represented Australia in mogul skiing at the 2018 PyeongChang and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Games. In PyeongChang, he finished as Australia’s second-best-placed male mogul skier in 14th overall. Outside of mogul skiing, James completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Sydney. He is also the host of The Athlete Collective podcast, where he interviews a range of athletes about their sporting careers and their progression into life after sport.
Following in the spikes of Nigel Barker (Fr 1908), Rohan Browning (Fr 2016) represented Australia in Athletics at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), where he became the first Australian in 17 years to compete in the men’s 100m. Hailed as Australia’s fastest man, Rohan had an impressive win in the heats, going on to finish 5th in his semi-final. Rohan recently won the 100m-200m double at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne and the 100m at the Sydney Track Classic as he works towards qualifying for the Paris Games.
Dr Tracy Bradford College Archivist