Australians to Watch At The Paris Olympics & Paralympics
Australians to Watch At The Paris Olympics & Paralympics
July 28, 2024
With 460 Australian athletes competing across 33 sports at this year’s Summer Olympics, and many more Paralympians still to be announced, catching all 255 female and 205 male Aussie participants will be no easy feat!
The volume of talented athletes representing Australia can make it tricky to choose who to watch. To help, we’ve put together a list of just a few of the qualified Olympians and Paralympians we’ll be tuning in to watch compete this year.
Caitlin Parker
Caitlin Parker is preparing to head into her second Olympics representing Australia in women’s boxing.
An Australian champion ten times over, Caitlin has her sights set on becoming the first-ever Australian female gold medallist, and the first Aussie to ever be awarded a gold medal for boxing. Right now, Caitlin has almost reached her goal of raising $12,000 to cover the lengthy list of costs that come with being an elite athlete.
Arisa Trew
At just 14 years old, Arisa Trew is one of Australia’s youngest athletes this year and is competing in park-style skateboarding for the event’s second appearance on the Olympic schedule.
Trew is currently the Australian Women’s Bowl Champion, has placed in the top three at every event she’s entered in the last 12 months, and ranks 20th in the world in her sport. At just 13 years old, Trew was the first woman to land a 720 in a competition, and in April 2024, she also became the first female to ever land a 900-degree spin in a half pipe.
Stella Barton
A first-time Paralympian, Stella Barton has been training as a para-equestrian since age seven. After graduating from university two years ago, the athlete set her sights on the Paralympics, although she has been competing as an Australian Grade 1* Para Dressage rider since 2016.
Since her own horse lost motivation to compete in 2023, Stella was given the opportunity to train and compete with Bug, who has ample paralympic experience. Together, the pair aim to bring home gold, but need financial aid to support them - the duo has to cover costs not only for Stella’s journey and her team’s but for Bug’s too.
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Stacey Hymer
Following a gold medal at the Australia Presidents Cup and a slew of international silver and bronze wins in 2023, Stacey Hymer will be representing Aus in Taekwondo at Paris 2024 in the female -57kg division.
Stacey made her Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020. She is currently ranked #11 in the world and has been training five days a week to get her skills in top shape ahead of the Games.
Help Stacey bring home gold here.
Jed Altschwager
After losing his leg in a workplace incident in 2015, Jed focused on his fitness and began dreaming of representing Australia. With a love for water, Jed took up rowing in May 2017 and hasn’t looked back since.
In the years following, he’s won many silver and gold medals at state, national and international events, and is now looking to take a podium finish at the Paris Paralympics.
Rebecca Henderson
Rebecca Henderson, or Bec, is just one of Australia’s self-funded athletes, working three jobs and studying for a bachelor’s degree all while training for this year’s Olympics.
At 23, she’s taking on the 20-kilometre race walk in Paris, after being the youngest to compete in the event in Tokyo 2020. Having placed 4th at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Bec has managed to shave three minutes off her time and is now the #3 All-Time Australian in her event.
Telaya Blacksmith
At just 16 years old, Telaya will make her Paralympic debut in Paris 2024. At the time of writing, she has qualified for the T20 400m event and is hoping to also compete in the long jump. As a proud Aboriginal woman, her qualification has been made all the more special by the fact that she is now the first person of Walpiri descent to compete in the Paralympics.
Despite her age, Telaya’s achievements are piling up. She is currently the world number one U18 T20 female over 400m and holds the U20 T20 Australian records in the 100m, 200m, 400m and long jump.
Shixin Li
From taking home gold in the 2011 and 2013 World Championships, Shixin Li made his Olympic debut in diving in Tokyo 2020 and will be competing again in Paris this year. Shixin also competes in synchronised diving and made it onto the podium for multiple events in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as well as the 2022 and 2024 World Championships.
As his synchro partner lives interstate, training costs and travel bills add up quickly. By driving fundraising for himself and the sport, Shixin aims to boost public knowledge about diving, hoping to bring in better sponsorship opportunities for other athletes.
Support Shixin with a tax-deductible donation.
Joshua Bell
What started as a pastime at age 12 alongside his dad has turned into an Olympic journey for Joshua Bell. After narrowly missing out on a chance to compete in the shooting event in Tokyo 2020, Joshua used the disappointment to fuel his training and has now qualified to represent Australia at this year’s Summer Olympics.
With a young family at home, this New South Wales native is fundraising not only for his training and travel expenses but to help keep food on the table for his family while he is away competing.
Support Joshua’s journey here.
Grae Morris
At 20 years old, Grae Morris is ranked 4th in the world for windsurfing and first in the European under 21s as of 2023.
Grae has played competitive rugby since childhood and took up windsurfing at the age of 11. When it came time to decide what to pursue after school, he knew that windsurfing was the way to go. On top of competing since age 15, Grae has also taken time to work with his dad in collaboration with a sailmaker to design his own raceboard sail.
Thanks to this, he won every race in an 18-race national regatta, and aims to bring home the gold in the Olympics next!
Help Grae sail into first here.
Campbell Harrison
Campbell Harrison is another athlete who’s preparing to make his Olympic debut in Paris. The sport climber’s journey has been largely self-funded thus far, and with Paris fast approaching, his list of expenses has been growing.
The first-time Olympian has been working as a climbing instructor and a barista to fund his journey and has been fundraising through ASF to help with training, coaching, travel and medical costs in the lead-up to his first Games.
Get Involved
The Paris Olympics is the perfect time to see the culmination of talent and determination in hundreds of Australia’s elite athletes, but we also need to acknowledge the hefty costs of getting there. With almost half of our elite athletes earning less than $23,000 a year, they’re often required to take on multiple jobs, or rely on the support of their friends and family.
By donating to individual athletes on their ASF projects, you’re not only helping them to fulfil their goals and represent Australia, but your donation can also help to bring greater sponsorship opportunities to those who rely on them to achieve their dreams.