QUT students and alumni will return from the Commonwealth Games with a medal tally that would make three-quarters of participating countries envious.
Together they finished with seven gold, four silver and six bronze medals - that's more gold than Malaysia or Wales, and the same total number of medals as Singapore.
Female swimmers studying at QUT with the help of the university's Elite Athlete Program proved a powerhouse in the pool.
Sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell amassed five gold, two silver and a bronze medal between them while Bronte Barratt collected one gold and two bronze.
"We're very proud of the efforts all our athletes put into their events," said program administrator Jasmin Henery, from QUT Careers and Employment.
"The Campbell sisters were amazing; they smashed world and games records in their 4 x 100m freestyle relay and medley relay finals as well as in some of their individual freestyle races.
"Bronte Barratt also broke a games record as part of her women's 4 x 200m freestyle medley gold-medal race, which is fantastic."
Fellow QUT elite athlete Christian Sprenger defied a shoulder injury to claim silver in the men's 4 x 100m medley relay and bronze in the men's 50m breaststroke.
In the lead-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games Sprenger - along with Brisbane gold-medal para-sports swimmer Rowan Crothers, who is not a QUT student - trained with a swimming device developed by former national-level swimmer Sam James while he was studying industrial design at QUT.
The Corsuit straps on like a belt, keeping a swimmer's spine straight and body streamlined.
With their lungs lower and their hips higher in the water, the swimmer gains a mechanical advantage because their muscles are positioned to generate maximum power and minimum drag.
Mr James commercialised the performance-enhancer with the help of QUT's innovation arm, bluebox.
"In swimming, a fraction of a second can mean the difference between first and fourth place - I designed the Corsuit to give swimmers that edge in the pool," Mr James said.
"I spent three years researching and refining the Corsuit to make sure it helped create perfect posture and the most efficient stroke possible. If it's helped one swimmer achieve their dream then I've done what I set out to do."
Our elite athletes weren't the only QUT connections collecting medals in Glasgow.
2012 Bachelor of Justice graduate Madonna Blyth captained her Hockeyroos team into first place, 2014 accountancy graduate Grant Irvine won silver in the men's 200m butterfly and Damon Kelly, who graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in 2007, claimed bronze in the men's +105kg Group A weightlifting competition.
Meanwhile QUT's most senior participant, 75-year-old alumni Bruce Jones, grabbed bronze in the para-sport mixed pairs lawn B2/B3 event. Mr Jones graduated with a Certificate of Architecture from one of QUT's predecessor institutions in 1969.
QUT students and alumni in the Commonwealth Games
•Bronte Barratt (swimming)
•Madonna Blyth (hockey)
•Cate Campbell (swimming)
•Bronte Campbell (swimming)
•Michelle Cutmore (athletics)
•Abebe Fekadu (weightlifting)
•Grant Irvine (swimming)
•Bruce Jones (lawn bowls para-sports)
•Damon Kelly (weightlifting)
•Tegan Napper (weightlifting)
•Christian Sprenger (swimming)
•Dan Wilson (triathlon)
•Jared Gilliland (swimming)
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Media contact:
Kate Haggman, QUT Media, 3138 0358 or kate.haggman@qut.edu.au.
After hours, Rose Trapnell, QUT Media team leader, 0407 585 901.
