Azzopardi Keen for Extra Lessons at World Uni Games

New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship athlete Josh Azzopardi said his selection in the Uniroos Athletics team that will compete in the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, China, was an important part of his plan to compete at next year’s Paris Olympics.

Azzopardi, a student at ACPE, said he would join the 39-strong Aussie team in late July after completing his European summer campaign.

“I want to post a decent time and to get myself back into a bit of form before going into the World Uni Games,” said Azzopardi, who clocked 10.28 seconds when he won the NSW Open 100m event earlier this year.

“Hopefully, from there, we can squeeze through to qualify for the [4 x 100m] relay at the world championships – [Australia] is sitting 15^th out of 16 countries – so hopefully we can get through and I can make my way onto the team and compete.”

Azzopardi, who represented Australia at last year’s Commonwealth Games, said he was proud to know he’ll wear the national colours in China.

“I’ve been chasing World Uni for a couple of years now,” he said. “It was postponed over the last two years [because of COVID-19] and it is a competition I really want to compete at.

“The goal is to medal in China, and I believe I can do that based on [results posted in] previous years. That would help set me up for next year because the qualifications [for Olympic selection] open on July 1, so the Uni Games are being held in that window.

“It’s quite a high-level meet, so, if I can go there and run well, it’s a good foot in the door for world rankings.”

Azzopardi will be joined in China by fellow NSWIS athlete Connor Murphy (Sydney University) who’ll compete in the triple jump. Murphy finished in second place at last April’s National Championships in Brisbane.

Athletics Australia General Manager, High Performance Andrew Faichney described the World University Games is a great platform for athletes – such as Murphy and Azzopardi – to hone and develop their skills at a major championships.

“Athlete development hinges on providing competition opportunities and the World University Games gives these athletes the chance to be exposed to the rigours of international competition at a high level,” Faichney said.

“Our hope is that athletes use this experience to springboard their athletic careers and get an understanding of what it means to represent Australia.

“Australia has also had much success at the University Games, and I’m looking forward to seeing what this team can do to build on their careers.”

Daniel Lane, NSWIS