AUT celebrates one year until Paris 2024
To celebrate the ‘one year until Paris 2024’ milestone this week – and as the official university partner of the New Zealand team – we are very proud to acknowledge AUT’s students and alumni who are also 2024 Olympic and Paralympic contenders.
These high-performance athletes represent a diverse range of sports, from athletics and hockey to wheelchair rugby and T20 Cricket.
AUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Damon Salesa says, "As one of the world’s leading universities for sports science, we deeply understand how sport serves as a unifying force, connecting people from all walks of life.
“We’re excited to see the tangible impact of this partnership as we look forward to the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, knowing that among those exceptional athletes, we’ll see familiar faces of AUT's students and alumni.
“AUT Millennium is serving as the home base for the New Zealand Olympic team to train and we wish all of them the very best in the coming year on their journey to qualify and be selected for the Games,” he says.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games begin on 26 July next year. Around 200 New Zealand Team athletes are expected to compete at the Games, with the city of Paris set to host 10,500 athletes from 206 nations.
Inspiring the next generation
As part of AUT's partnership with the New Zealand Olympic Committe (NZOC), past and present NZ Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes are featuring at a number of the University’s recruitment events this year, sharing their inspirational journeys and experiences with future students.
At the recent Coaching and Leadership Day held at the AUT North Campus, Olympic boxer, Alexis Pritchard, addressed hundreds of future students from North Shore high schools and was joined by AUT graduate Ella Agnew, who after completing a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation majoring in Management, was selected for a year-long internship at NZOC. Both Alexis and Ella shared their personal experiences and pathways in the sport and recreation sector with the future students. (Read about Ella's journey)
Likewise, earlier in the year, hockey silver medal winner, (Commonwealth Games), Cory Bennett took part in a Future Students Day, providing students with an insight into the possible career opportunities within the Sport & Recreation sector.
He said, “As a former AUT student I really enjoy giving back to the university where I studied both sport and recreation and business. I was a student throughout my hockey playing career, even being lucky enough to one year be AUT sportsperson of the year.
“I’m very passionate about sports people within business and utilising your networks and strengths gained through sport to progress in your career.”
AUT’s School of Sport and Recreation is ranked in the top 40 in the world.
AUT's partnership with the NZ Olympic Committee was signed in 2020 and runs until the end of 2024.