Jenna Strauch – Swimming – 2020
Bachelor of Biomedical Science
Jenna Strauch once saw her swimming dreams almost shattered by a debilitating illness. Little wonder she appreciates the comfort that comes with now having a Bond University degree on her resume.
“We all need to face the reality that our swimming careers are only going to last a short period of our lives,” says the Olympic swimmer, who graduated from Bond with a Bachelor of Biomedical Science in 2019.
“To know I have something to fall back on afterwards is very reassuring.”
Strauch was a promising 15-year-old on the cusp of national selection when she was struck down by parasites that forced her to spend the better part of two years in and out of hospitals. As she slowly regained fitness, a move to Bond University on the back of the Georgina Hope Rinehart Swimming Excellence Scholarship proved a turning point.
Strauch made her first national senior team at the 2018 World Short Course Swimming Championships before claiming her maiden national title with a stunning swim in the 200m breaststroke at the 2019 Australian Swimming Championships.
She went on to be selected for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo where she made the semifinals of the 200m breaststroke, missing the final by 0.13 seconds.