Meet our inspiring alumni
Meet Elena
After years of juggling medical training and professional pistol shooting, Elena combined both passions at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when asked to be the Oceania Olympic Flag Bearer, representing her country and other COVID-19 frontline workers.
“I greatly appreciated the recognition given to healthcare and essential workers in the opening ceremony by the Tokyo 2020 organising committee. I felt great pride in being chosen to represent - and gratitude, because without the healthcare workers around the globe the event would not have been possible.”
Elena's key Olympic events are the 10m Air Pistol and 25m Pistol - and this year, she will be travelling to Paris to compete in her third Olympic Games.
In 2016 Elena made her Olympic debut at the Rio 2016 Games, where she competed in the 25m Pistol (placed 32nd) and 10m Air Pistol (placed 43rd) events. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast Elena achieved silver in the women’s 25m Pistol and bronze in the 10m Air Pistol.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Biomedicine in 2008, majoring in human structure and function, Elena went on to study a Doctor of Medicine at Melbourne.
“Undergraduate study was a lot of fun. There was so much to do – clubs, activities and balls! I remember the content being challenging, but I think in the first year there is always a learning curve because it is a different way of learning compared with high school, it is much more self-driven and directed.”
After completing her MD, Elena worked as an intern, resident and then surgical registrar and is currently studying to become a urological surgeon. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Elena worked on the frontline and spent her time looking after patients on COVID wards. She is also an Honorary Urology Research Fellow at Austin Health and in February 2022, she joined the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand.
With the benefit of hindsight, Elena says she would tell her younger self to: “Think about what you value and why, although those things change with time if you stick to your values and act accordingly you won’t go wrong.”