UWA student, Joshua Yong, is not only making waves through his Master of Professional Engineering course, but is now diving headfirst into arguably the biggest global sporting event of the year, at the ripe age of 22.
I’m a competitive swimmer and am competing in the 100m and 200m breaststroke in the 2024 Paris Olympics. I had also competed in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the 2022 World Short Course Swimming Championships in Melbourne..”Joshua Yong, UWA Master of Professional Engineering student
Born and raised in Brunei until the age of 11, Joshua made the move to Australia and is now in his 6th year of study at UWA. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science at UWA, Joshua is pursuing postgraduate study with the help of the Student Athlete Development Program, “helping athletes balance sport and study”, Joshua shares.
When answering what he likes most about studying at UWA, Joshua says “I think I enjoy the group work components and projects side of engineering where everyone contributes towards a finished product.” He also mentioned UWA’s facilities and his ties to the swimming community, all attributed to why he chose UWA to continue his educational studies.
As balancing study and training simultaneously is no easy feat, Joshua discloses that the flexibility of university life has allowed him to put his studies on hold while pursuing his swimming career.
Joshua shares some advice for any students considering undertaking a sport during their studies:
I definitely recommend studying while pursuing sport as it does teach you good time management skills and does give a mental break from competitive sport. I think communicating with the university and sport coaches regarding your commitments to your study and sport is important to ensure that you don’t get overwhelmed by schoolwork or training.”
Maintaining a balance between sport and studies is important to Joshua “as all athletes have to retire from sport eventually so having another career option is definitely important. It also helps to not only be thinking about your sport 24/7 as that is very mentally draining.”
Joshua describes how he felt securing a place in this year's Olympic Games.
I was very nervous leading into the meet as I set the goal of making the Olympic team for both the 100m and 200m breaststroke but I felt confident that if I executed correctly, I could definitely make it.”
Even though Joshua couldn’t see the results board after his race due to his bad eyesight, he shares how relieved and happy he felt when he found out he had qualified.
Joshua's confidence proved well-founded as he secured spots in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke teams.
Representing Australia has “always been a dream of mine since I was a little kid so to be able to do that on the world’s biggest stage is really an honour.”
Curious about how you too can blend your love for sports with your academic pursuits at UWA?
Find out more about our study options, and explore the complete list of UWA’s Sport clubs and programs.
