If Griffith University were a country it would rank equal third on the gold medal tally, midway through the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Six days into Glasgow’s 11-day schedule, students and recent graduates of the Queensland university had notched 10 gold medals, equalling England’s haul and surpassing all but two of the other 73 competing nations and territories.
Griffith athletes had also claimed two silver and six bronze medals for Australia, while a Kiwi member of the university’s swim squad had earned a bronze medal for New Zealand.
Griffith Sports College director Naomi McCarthy said the performance was about more than bragging rights, in an institution named a “pathway university” for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. “We’re inspiring Australians and community to be the best version of themselves,” she said.
This meant producing well-rounded athletes with lives outside sport and plans for their post-sport transition. Swimmers fresh from a morning training session, for example, spent the middle of the day studying and engaging with people who “don’t really care” about swimming.
