“I’m just happy to be here.” It’s a refrain we’re sure to hear a lot over the coming weeks, as athletes from Australia and around the world insist that simply making it to Paris is enough of an achievement to fulfil their Olympic dreams.
And of course, it is true that qualifying for the Olympics, something the rest of us mere mortals can barely even conceive of, is a monumental feat that only a tiny portion of the population will ever be able to do.
But Olympic athletes, many of whom compete in sports with strongly individualist bents, are competitive to their absolute cores – it’s how they got so far in the first place.
While making it to Paris is nice, the full truth is that for many of them there will forever be a persistent “what if” gnawing away at their subconscious if they don’t come home with something to show for it.
Preferably something gold.
So just who, out of the 460-odd Aussies competing at the 2024 Olympics, is in with a realistic shot of bringing a medal back to Australia?
After unprecedented success in Tokyo, where the team finished with 46 medals including 17 golds, who will be the latest athletes to etch their name into Australian sporting folklore?
We’ve run the rule over every Australian competitor at Paris 2024 (you can see the full list here) to present to you our list of the ten best Aussie medal hopes – and because we think a repeat of Tokyo could be on the cards, we’ve chucked in a few extra smokeys as well.
Our 10 best medal chances at the Paris Olympics
- Women’s 4x200m relay (Swimming)
This is as close to an all-star game as you’re going to get in swimming. Even outside the Australian team you’ll have one of the all-time greats in the USA’s Katie Ledecky, and the hottest young prospect in the world in the form of Canadian Summer McIntosh. But the Aussies are the clear favourites after annihilating the world record at last year’s World Championships, where a team featuring Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan – who both went under world record time in the individual 200m at this year’s Olympic trials – combined with Shayna Jack and Brianna Throssell to shave nearly two seconds off the mark they’d set a year earlier. We’re going to be a bit controversial and leave Titmus off the rest of our list, because there’s one other Aussie golden girl we think is even more of a sure thing in the pool …
Australia’s Ariarne Titmus in action in the 4x200m relay at the Tokyo Olympics. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
- Kaylee McKeown (Swimming)
Thanks to the likes of Titmus and Emma McKeon, Kaylee McKeown’s feats in Tokyo fell somewhat under the radar – aside from her famous f-bomb interview. After Paris, we think it’ll be impossible to overlook this backstroking genius. She already has three Olympic gold medals in her locker and has a realistic chance of adding at least three more this year, given she’s the world champion in the 100m and 200m backstroke (also the 50m backstroke, which isn’t on the Olympic program), came second in the 200m individual medley at the 2022 World Championships, and is a certain starter for the women’s and mixed medley relays. By early August, she could be Australia’s greatest ever Olympian in terms of gold medals won.
- Men’s eight (Rowing)
There are plenty of medal chances across the spectrum on Australia’s rowing team, but the golden experience in the men’s eight is difficult to ignore. Three of the victorious men’s four team from Tokyo – Alex Purnell, Jack Hargreaves and Spencer Turrin – have switched to the eight-man boat, which helped the Aussies win gold at the recent Rowing World Cup in Poland. If they can repeat the feat in Paris, they’ll tick off one of the last remaining rowing events where Australia has not won an Olympic gold medal.
- Jess Fox (Canoe Slalom)
Speaking of Aussies in boats, let’s talk about Jess Fox. She has been in the Aussie sporting consciousness for a while now, having first appeared at the London Olympics in 2012, and she provided one of the best moments of the Tokyo Games when she overcame heartbreak in the K1 final to put in the run of her life in the C1 two days later, finally claiming a gold medal that had eluded not just her, but both of her parents. It’s worth acknowledging just how much of a giant in the sport of canoe slalom she is – with eight individual world titles under her belt, there’s a strong argument to be made for Fox to sit alone in the pantheon of the world’s greatest paddlers. Ever. She’ll be hoping to settle the debate by winning gold in either the C1 or K1 in Paris, ideally with her sister Noemie bringing home silver.
Jessica Fox is hoping to produce another gold medal performance in Paris. (Photo by Fred Lee/Getty Images)
- James Willett (Shooting)
The stars seem to be aligning for something special from James Willett at Paris 2024. Currently ranked the second-best trap shooter in the world, the 28-year-old enhanced his credentials with victory at the recent World Cup in Azerbaijan. That helped him sneak into the qualification places for Paris and this momentum, coupled with nearly a decade of experience at the highest level – this will be his third Olympic campaign – will have him heading into this year’s Games filled with confidence that he can claim his first Olympic medal, and Australia’s first since 2016 (won by Catherine Skinner, who only just missed out on making it onto this list).
6. Jess Hull (Athletics)
The spot for track and field athletes in this list was all set to go to high jumping duo Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson until the dramatic Diamond League meet in Paris just a few weeks before the Olympics. Olyslagers and Patterson performed well and are still strong medal chances, particularly Olyslagers who came second at that meet, but it was Jess Hull who stole all the headlines back home after recording a blistering time in the 1500m. The 27-year-old recorded the fifth-fastest time in history to finish just behind freakish Kenyan Faith Kipyegon, who broke the world record. The fact Hull could stick with Kipyegon all the way to the end was a serious statement from the Aussie, who is now even more of a red-hot Olympic medal chance after breaking the world record for the 2000m at a separate event a few days later, even if that’s not on the Olympic schedule.
7. Eileen Cikamatana (Weightlifting)
Eileen Cikamatana has already received an unusual amount of media attention for an Aussie weightlifter, and that’s only likely to intensify over the coming weeks. If you ask her coach, it’s nothing more than she deserves. “She will definitely win a medal”,” Paul Coffa confidently told News Corp in early July – and to be fair, he knows a thing or two about what it takes to win Olympic weightlifting medals, having coached Dean Lukin to Australia’s only gold in the sport 40 years ago. Cikamatana already has two Commonwealth Games gold medals under her belt; one for Australia and one, back in 2018 when she was just a teenager, representing Fiji. Her change of allegiance, owing to a dispute with Fijian administrators, meant she missed the Tokyo Games but she’s now determined to make up for lost time by claiming a medal, possibly even a gold one, in Paris.
Eileen Cikamatana. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
- Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson (Surfing)
We couldn’t split these two, so both Aussie male surfers make it onto our list. Fifth-ranked Ewing has been the more consistent surfer this year, finishing inside the top ten in all eight events on the WSL tour, but it’s Robinson who sits third in the season’s rankings after racking up two victories, including at his home break at Margaret River. Neither had great results at Teahupo’o, where the Olympic surfing competition will be held, but we reckon at least one of the Aussie duo is due for a career-defining performance in the water, a la Owen Wright three years ago. Wright’s sister Tyler, along with fellow Aussie woman Molly Picklum, are decent shouts for a medal as well. Wait, did we just cheat by sneaking more than 10 athletes onto this list?
- Team Eventing (Equestrian)
“Our Eventing team is strong and together … if we all perform at our best we have a great chance of standing on that podium.” So says Shane Rose, and if you’re wondering why his name sounds familiar, it’s because you might have seen a picture of him wearing a mankini on a horse. But we digress. Despite the mankini saga, Rose is a highly-respected competitor with two silvers and one bronze medal from his previous three Olympic appearances. Chuck in Chris Burton, who won bronze in Rio, and Tokyo silver medallist Kevin McNab, and the Aussie team has all the ingredients needed for a champion performance in Paris.
- Sam Short (Swimming)
Another who hasn’t grabbed as many headlines as his high-profile colleagues in the pool, Short has quietly built up an awesome resume over the past couple of years. His crowning moment so far was a stunning win in the 400m at last year’s world championships, where he just edged out Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui. The pair switched places in the 800m and Hafnaoui also won the 1500m final, with Short in third place, setting up an epic three-part showdown in Paris. That was, until reports emerged that Hafnoui would miss the Olympics due to a mysterious injury. If that is the case, Short’s chances of making it onto the podium in at least one of his three events – and quite possibly all of them – will be sky high.
Just missed the cut, but still a great shout for a medal in Paris
Australia’s women’s team (Rugby Sevens): Recent winners of the World Rugby Sevens Series title with a point to prove after disappointing in Tokyo (Check out our ultimate guide to Australia’s women’s Rugby Sevens team at the Paris Olympics)
Keegan Palmer (Skateboarding): Won the first ever Olympic gold for park skateboarding, and still among the top skaters in the world
The Boomers (Basketball): Probably our strongest basketball team ever, but they face a very tough draw (Check out our ultimate guide to the Boomers Olympic campaign)
The Opals (Basketball): Ranked third in the world, plus the Lauren Jackson factor (Check out our ultimate guide to The Opals at Paris 2024)
Grace Brown (Cycling): Narrowly missed a medal in the time trial in Tokyo, and has since claimed two silvers at the world championships
Leon Sejranovic (Taekwondo): Won bronze at last year’s world championships
The Kookaburras (Hockey): Immense big game experience, with plenty of players out for redemption after suffering heartbreak in Tokyo (Check out our ultimate guide to the Kookaburras chances at Paris 2024)
The Roarhttps://https://ift.tt/51qsClZ stars, surfer dudes and that mankini bloke: Australia’s 10 best medal chances at Paris 2024 Olympics
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