Stubblety-Cook named top sporting student

ZAC Stubblety-Cook has been awarded Academic Athlete of the Year at Griffith University’s 2019 Blues Awards for Sporting Excellence.

The award is given to an athlete who maintains the highest grade point average from the previous three semesters, while considering their study and sporting load.

Stubblety-Cook balanced training for and competing in the world swimming championships this year while studying dual degrees and maintaining an extremely high GPA over the past 12 months.

The award for Most Outstanding Sporting Achievement in 2019 was jointly bestowed on cyclist Steph

Morton and freestyle swimmer Emma McKeon.

Director Griffith Sports College Duncan Free said it was a tough decision to award the title to just one athlete.

“The award should go to the athlete who has reached the pinnacle of their sport, and achieved the highest results for 2019 and it was hotly contested, with so many great results it was hard to spilt two athletes,” he said.

Morton is a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice student.

“Steph had her best year to date, winning both gold and silver at this year’s world track cycling championships,” Free said.

McKeon is a Bachelor of Public Health student and a Griffith Swimming Club member.

“With an impressive world championships, Emma won gold medals in the 100m and 200m freestyle relays and was part of the team that set the world record in the 4x200m freestyle relay,” he said.