Sports experts

Duncan Free, OAM

Duncan Free is the Director of the Griffith Sports College. A former Olympian, Duncan understands the challenges facing athletes who are competing at the highest level, whilst also studying at university. Duncan competed in world championships and Olympic Games whilst completing his Bachelor of Health Science with Griffith. He won an Olympic Bronze Medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and in Beijing in 2008, at his 4th Olympics, he won a Gold Medal. Duncan is strongly committed to supporting athletes, and he took part in the 2012 London Olympics as a mentor. Duncan can talk on rowing of course but also more generally on the Australian team’s prospects, medal hopes, selection procedures and what it is like for life as an Olympic athlete.

Professor Paul Burton

Paul Burton is Director of Griffith’s Cities Research Centre. Professor Burton’s research interests include patterns of urban development and planning, urban agriculture and food security and urban resilience and climate change. He can comment on how cities can be constructed, planned or adapted to cater for mega-events.

Dr Matthew Burke

Matthew Burke (Infrastructure, development, light rail, transport issues) is a Principal Research Fellow with the Cities Research Centre . His research is mainly in how transport systems, land uses and travel behaviour interact. Matthew’s transport research and interests range across freight, metropolitan planning and transport policy, through to ferry, light rail and busway systems planning and design, and walking, cycling and children’s travel programs. He can comment about people movement and transport in congested environments and at large scale events.

Professor Graham Cuskelly

Graham Cuskelly, is the Head of the Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management within Griffith Business School. His research expertise covers areas of sport/social intervention, community sport organisations, sport policy and governance, sport management, organisational behaviour of sport volunteers, volunteers in the sports, recreation and leisure industries.

Professor Susanne Becken

Susanne Becken is Director of the Griffith Institute for Tourism and an expert in the fields of global tourism, sustainable tourism, future of tourism, China tourism, as well as the natural disaster management and tourism. She can talk about the impact of the large scale sporting events on tourism.

Professor Kristine Toohey

Kristine Toohey AM has worked within tourism research at Griffith University for many years and has more than 30 years of experience teaching and researching in the areas sport management, knowledge management, sport and terrorism. She has served on Olympic bodies and is a Games expert.

Dr Millicent Kennelly

Millicent Kennelly is a Lecturer in the Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management at Griffith University, specialising in event and project management. Millicent has been researching and teaching in event management, with a specific focus on sport events, since 2004. Her teaching and research interests include: sport events, event management, project management, strategic engagement of event stakeholders, and leveraging events for tourism outcomes.

Dr Jason Doyle

Jason Doyle, is a sessional lecturer in the Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel management. Dr Doyle is an expert in sports marketing and fan behaviour. He has conducted research for the major football codes in Australia. Jason can comment on the worth of an athlete, how his/her brand is impacted and the role fans play.

Associate Professor Clare Minahan

Clare Minahan is a senior lecturer from the School of Health Sciences and Social Work and Menzies Health Institute Queensland. Her areas of research include Exercise Physiology and Human Movement and Sports Science. She can talk about athlete physiology and injury rehabilitation.