Best of both worlds: Elite athletes like Txai balancing study & Olympic dreams
First published 18 December 2023
The 19-year-old is one of more than 300 student-athletes who are part of the QUT Elite Athlete Program which provides support to some of Australia’s top young sportspeople.
Txai has just successfully completed her first year of a QUT law degree, combining 25 hours of weekly training with online lectures and on-campus tutorials.
She studies at Gardens Point campus in Brisbane, lives west of Ipswich, trains on the Gold Coast, and travelled to England and Germany earlier this year as part of the Australian under 20 team’s European summer tour.
Txai is also one of more than 50 students who were awarded QUT sports scholarships in 2023 to help with their studies and cost of living.
Applications are now open for the next round of $10,000 QUT Elite Sport Scholarships and $10,000 QUT-AIS Scholarships, with multiple scholarships available for students studying in 2024.
Scholarship recipients automatically become part of the QUT Elite Athlete Program, which provides help with balancing training commitments, class timetables and exams, and other benefits including access to nutrition and sports psychology services, and networking opportunities.
The university has also been recognised by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and is a member of the Elite Athlete Education Network.
Txai is the under 20 Oceania 400m champion and was a member of the Australian women’s team that came 6th in the 4x400m relay at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Colombia last year.
She is about to move into the international open age category and has her sights set on one day competing at the Olympics – whether that be Paris next year, Los Angeles in 2028 or Brisbane in 2032.
By the time the Brisbane Games roll around, Txai will be 28 – a peak age for a 400m runner and just a year older than Cathy Freeman was when she won the 400m gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“Competing at an Olympics would mean the world – it would mean everything to me,” Txai said.
“Since being a little girl and winning my first medal in Canberra, the desire and determination to compete at an international level for Australia has been a driving force.
“It was [Olympian and world champion javelin thrower] Kelsey-Lee Barber’s dad who was a teacher at my school who encouraged and dared me to win my first race at school … I won by a mile.
“I’d love to represent the green and gold in the Olympics, it would be absolutely amazing.”
Txai got a taste of international competition in Colombia in 2022 and in Europe in June 2023.
Watching the Matildas play Nigeria in their FIFA Women’s World Cup clash at Suncorp Stadium also fueled that fire for international competition.
“It gave me goosebumps to be there, and think that one day I could be in a stadium like that with people cheering Australians on … I can’t play soccer at all, but I want to be on a track in front of a crowd like that and represent my country!” Txai said.
With a mother, father and sister who are all lawyers, Txai always thought she would go to uni.
But she didn’t think she’d study law.
“Through high school I was adamant that I didn’t want to do law, but I changed my QTAC form at the last minute!” she said.
“I realised I actually do love law and this is what I want to do in diplomacy.
“I chose QUT because it had the most to offer … I looked at the course and the sport program and I knew other athletes who were already studying here and who’d had good experiences.
“I liked the facilities and teaching style and that modern, flexible approach to learning.
“I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I did really want to study and do sport at the same time. And combining the two does have its benefits – I’ve found that being able to do the training on the track and then switch my mind to law allows me to have that break from each of them.”
Txai was inspired by other top athletes who’ve successfully combined university study and international competition, including world champion and Olympic medallist javelin thrower Kelsey-Lee Barber, who has an exercise science degree from the University of Canberra.
Now Txai hopes to inspire others herself.
“If you want to study and be an athlete, you really can do both – so please apply and join us!” she said.
“It really does ‘take a village’ – it takes the help of a lot of people to even get me to a starting line, but that support is there.
“For me, community is incredibly important … and finding that community at QUT within the Elite Athlete Program, College of Excellence, my law course, and the QUT Law Society, has enabled me to flourish this year.
“My community still includes friends and staff from Westside Christian College, my church family, my training friends, my coach, my gym coach, my physio and of course my track family and my own family.”
In the next six months, Txai will transition out of juniors and hopes to make the finals of her first open nationals and qualify for the world relay championships in the Bahamas in May.
“I’d still be very young to make an Australian team for the Paris Olympics, but I’d like to give it my all and try to qualify,” she said.