![](https://research.qut.edu.au/qutcds/wp-content/uploads/sites/257/2024/02/Mackenzie-Parker-CROPPED-600x600.jpg)
Project Title: Swimming Race Pace Profiling, Prediction, and Simulation Using Multivariate Data
- Industry Partner: Queensland Academy of Sport
- PhD student at QUT
- Supervisors: A/Prof. Paul Wu, Dr Geoffrey Minett, Koji Honda, & Jack Fahey-Gilmour
Mackenzie is a 2023 QUT graduate, completing his Bachelor of Mathematics (Operations Research) and Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Science) double degree. He was first exposed to the field of research during his undergraduate studies under the supervision of Dr. Paul Wu. It was Dr. Wu who introduced Mackenzie to the NGGP Program, where he is now researching a topic closer to his passion: swimming. Mackenzie has been a swimming athlete and coach for many years, including competing for the QUT Tigers at the UniSport Nationals Div 1 in 2018.
What made you interested in this program?
I have been a competitive swimmer for many years and wanted to find a way to combine my academic and sporting passions. Part of competitive swimming is developing a race plan, which has led me to brainstorm swimming strategies for a long time. I have a lot of personal experience with this process and understand how significant it is for a swimmer. When I learned that this project had been proposed for the Next Generation Graduate Program, I was excited to investigate swimming races in a capacity that will expand the future of the sport.
What research question are you looking forward to exploring?
I’m looking forward to researching how well swimmers and their racing strategies can be categorised by distinct pacing profiles. Whether these profiles are well defined, whether some profiles are generally more successful than others, and how well swimmers transition between profiles (attempting different strategies) is information that gives swimmers a competitive edge when approaching their races.
Fun fact about yourself?
I love to travel, having lived in two other countries, and hope to visit every continent.
Please join us in welcoming Mackenzie!