Australian Olympian awarded RMIT Elite Athlete Program Scholarship

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Australian Olympian awarded RMIT Elite Athlete Program Scholarship

The 2022 RMIT Elite Athlete Scholarship has been awarded to Taekwondo athlete Stacey Hymer.

Stacey Hymer, a fifth year Bachelor of Science (Food Technology and Nutrition) student and Australian Olympian in Taekwondo, has been awarded the 2022 RMIT Elite Athlete Scholarship.

This year Stacey is aiming to improve her international ranking by competing at the Oceania Taekwondo Championships in Tahiti, as well as the World Taekwondo Championships in Guadalajara in Mexico.

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics is also in her sights.

The annual scholarship is for the successful candidate to use towards any aspects of supporting their dual career in sport and academic study.

This included supplementing income, medical needs and academic, training and travel associated costs, something that Stacey said would be incredibly helpful.

“If I had any competing deadlines with assessments or exams, the REAP staff would help me explain my unique situation to lecturers,” she said.

“When there was uncertainty with whether the Olympics would go ahead, I had to put my mind into relaxation mode and having University there was a welcome distraction.”

Stacey has been part of RMIT’s Elite Athlete Program (REAP) since 2019, which she said has helped her realise her sporting and academic aspirations and potential on a global scale.

It was amazing being able to represent Australia at the Olympic games. Being able to bring all that knowledge back home to share it with the younger fighters has been really rewarding for me.

RMIT student in a fighting pose

Stacey Hymer has her eyes set on the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“If anything, the Olympic experience has given me the motivation and drive to keep training hard and put all that knowledge from competing fighters at the elite level on the mats to give myself the best opportunity for Paris 2024”

Through her Food Technology and Nutrition degree and her lived experience as an elite level athlete, Stacey wants to design food products that are for people wanting to eat healthy and for those who are competing in sport at the highest level.

“I’m a massive foodie, I want to be able to make my own food products for active individuals and elite athletes," she said.

"I want to give them the reassurance when travelling overseas that the products they consume are going to meet their nutritional needs and are banned substance tested.”

Stacey was very honoured to receive this year’s scholarship and looks forward to the opportunity to represent RMIT at future UniNationals competitions.

“It’s a great way to give back to RMIT especially because they’ve been supporting me over the past five years. I want to show the other universities that I can match it with them.”

Since receiving the RMIT Elite Athlete Scholarship Stacey has expressed her gratitude for the program and her excitement for representing them proudly throughout 2022.

Stacey made a special mention to taekwondo competitors saying she can’t wait to see more up and coming taekwondo athletes join the program in future years.

Stacey Hymer hopes to next compete at the Oceania Taekwondo Championships in Tahiti in November as she recovers from an injury.

Story: Michael Serpell

2022 RMIT Elite Athlete Program Scholarship Awarded

The 2022 RMIT Elite Athlete Scholarship has been awarded to Taekwondo athlete Stacey Hymer.

05 September 2022

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