To be eligible for the Nigel C. Barket Medal for Sporting Achievement in 2026, nominees must:
Keep taking every opportunity and embracing every moment of life, even the smallest of milestones.
Rae Anderson is a dual Summer and Winter Australian Paralympian and Para Matilda. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Summer Paralympics in athletics and at the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics in alpine skiing, becoming the seventh Australian Paralympic athlete and only second female to represent Australia at a Summer and Winter Paralympics.
A month after Beijing, Rae followed this achievement by being selected in the Australian Para Matildas squad, placing Runners Up at the Inaugural IFCPF Female Football World Cup Salou 2022. The Para Matildas returned to Salou for the 2024 IFCPF Female Football World Cup, where they became the first Australian football team to ever win a World Cup.
At age one, Rae was diagnosed with Left Hemiplegic Dystonic and Spastic Cerebral Palsy, not being expected to walk unassisted. This was followed by ongoing physiotherapy, several multilevel surgeries, and rehabilitation.
Beyond sport, Rae has worked for Disability Sports Australia since 2021 on their successful and popular Abilities Unleashed Program, where she promotes and coordinates disability multisport days and workshop presentations across Australia.
During the World Cup pre-departure camp, Rae submitted her final thesis with First Class Honours on Mediating Disability and Social Justice: A Cultural Analysis of Disability Representations in Contemporary Indonesia, with support from the Elite Athlete Scholarship and a Residence Scholarship at Sancta Sophia College.
At the University of Sydney, she balanced academic and sporting excellence, earning the 2022 Female Blue of the Year, 2024 Syd Uni Sport Female Athlete of the Year, the 2024 Charles Perkins Memorial Prize as well as the Sancta Sophia College 2024 the Yvonne Swift Individual Achievement Award.
I never wanted to attend any university other than Sydney because of the Indonesian faculty and the Elite Athlete Program. The Indonesian and Anthropology faculties have not only broadened my global understanding and perspective but have also provided me with a diverse community of friends and mentors who have become an important part of my life. Outside of my studies, I trained through the University’s Elite Athlete Program and lived on campus at Sancta Sophia College. Because of this, the University has become my home, and I know this community will continue to support me and influence my perspective across all aspects of my career.
This year has become a year off for me—something of a ‘gap year’. I graduated from university, and we won the World Cup, all within a few weeks in November last year. As there are no major tournaments this year, I’m using the time to travel and reconnect with family and friends between work commitments.
My next major goals are divided into three areas: sport, academics, and career.
In terms of sport, I plan to continue training with the incredible team that the University of Sydney has supported me in building, as we look ahead to the next World Cup in 2026.
Career-wise, I hope to work with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, or a similar organisation, with a focus on strengthening Australia’s connections with Southeast Asia.
In the area of academics, I’m fortunate to have several inspiring mentors at the University of Sydney who are encouraging me to pursue a PhD focused on disability in Southeast Asia—a topic I am passionate about and eager to contribute to through academic research.
Mackenzie Little is an Olympic javelin thrower and Junior Medical Officer at the Northern Sydney Local Health District.
Alongside the demands of her medical degree, Mackenzie is an accomplished athlete. She was the 2013 World Youth Champion, a World Uni Games finalist in 2015 and 2017, NCAA Champion in 2018 and 2019, and won Diamond League Meetings in Lausanne and London in 2023 and 2024 respectively. She placed eighth at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, fifth at the World Championships in 2022, second at the Commonwealth Games in 2022, and third at the World Championships in 2023. Most recently, she was an Olympic Finalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Since returning from Paris, she has returned to her work at the Royal North Shore Hospital.
Rohan Browning is an Olympic sprinter, Australia’s second fastest man of all time over 100m and two-time national champion.
At Tokyo 2021 he became the first Australian man in 17 years to qualify for the 100m at the Olympic Games. Rohan’s 100m semi-final was the most watched moment of those Games in Australia. In 2023 Rohan ran the fastest time in Australia in 23 years.
He recently competed at his second Olympic Games in Paris. He graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws.
Carmen Ewa Marton’s career is the stuff of sporting legend. She is Australia’s first ever World Taekwondo Champion, represented Australia at three Olympic Games and is Australia’s most decorated Taekwondo athlete. While undertaking her Master of Business Administration, she was involved in the university’s Elite Athlete Program which propelled Carmen to become Australia’s highest ranked female player in the World, while achieving gold in both the 2019 Pacific Games and Oceania Championships.
Carmen’s studies have helped her develop a clearly articulated strategy to drive the change needed to lift high performance athletic programs in Australia and she was recently awarded the Performance Pathway Lead position for National Sporting Organisation, Australian Taekwondo. This marks the first time a woman has held this position in the Taekwondo Combat Sports Program. If that wasn’t a challenge enough, she is also exploring a career as an actor and stuntwoman.
Will Ryan has been competing as a sailor since he was 13 years old and currently holds the #1 World Ranking in the 470 Class. Will represented Australia and won a Silver Medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, then a Gold Medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He is an active contributor to the sailing community and regularly participates in community and fundraising initiatives.
Madii represented the University of Sydney at the University of Snow Nationals from 2013 to 2015. She has since competed in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics achieving 20th place. Madii is a mentor and coach in elite skiing, school skiing and gymnastics. She also volunteers at St Vincent’s Hospital supporting outpatients with pilates-based exercise programs. She is an advocate for mental health awareness and speaks out about her personal struggles with mental illness in sports through the podcast ‘Heart on My Sleeve’.
Nicholas Phipps is a professional Rugby Union Player for the Wallabies and NSW Waratahs. He has played over 200 professional games – including winning a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Nicholas is dedicated to supporting the Sydney University Football Club, and played a key role in securing a second Premiership for the Club. Nicholas is also an ambassador for the Royal Flying Doctors Service and Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. Nicholas’s most influential person during his time studying is David Mortimer AO.
Nigel Chase Barker (BE 1909) was an outstanding athlete and sportsman. Though he is officially recognised as a track and field athlete, Australia’s official Olympic history as “an outstanding all-rounder”. He played representative rugby union for the University of Sydney and New South Wales, and was twice selected to play for Australia but was forced to decline.
Nigel was extremely popular, and in 1906, Australians raised funds to send Nigel to the 1906 Intercalated/Interim Olympic Games in Athens. The surplus funds raised by Nigel’s public profile were enough to send an additional swimmer to the games.
Nigel was the most successful Australian, winning bronze medals in both the 100m and 400m races. Although the International Olympic Committee subsequently decided not to recognise the 1906 games in Athens as an official Summer Games, Nigel is arguably the University’s first Olympian.
Explore the annual Alumni Awards, featuring six Graduate Medals and six Alumni Awards.