Australia in Rio

Australia’s athletics team for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games boasts 60 impressive athletes to ensure its position as the largest section of the Australian Olympic Team.

It is the second biggest team to compete at an Olympic Games hosted internationally (behind Atlanta), with the Sydney 2000 and Melbourne 1956 teams the two biggest ever contingents.

As the Olympic Games fast approach, we today introduce you to the green and gold contingent set to take over the track and field.

As Julie Andrews once sang, ‘we’re getting to know you, getting to know all about you!’

1.       The women’s 4x400m relay team ensures that the team has more women than men, with 31 women and 29 men to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

2.       Australia will field a starter in every women’s track event for the first time since Sydney 2000, with athletes entered in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles and 3000m steeplechase.

3.       Thirty-one of the selected athletes will start at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with a new personal best achieved in 2016. This includes an Australian record to Alana Boyd in the pole vault and Brooke Stratton in the long jump.

4.       The athletics section features 39 debutants, just shy of two-thirds of the squad. The average age of the team is also one of the youngest ever.

5.       All of Alana Boyd, Jeff Riseley, Benn Harradine, Dani Samuels, Chris Erickson and Lisa Weightman will compete at their third Olympic Games.

6.       Monica Brennan, who will compete in the 4x400m relay, is one of ten children in her family. She is the second oldest. Born and raised in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, the 22-year-old will make her debut at Rio 2016, under the guidance of her coach and father Chris Brennan.

7.       Cedric Dubler will compete in the decathlon, becoming the first Australian to do so since Sydney 2000. He also speaks fluent French, with his father from Switzerland and his mother from Belgium.

8.       Peter Bol will compete in the 800m alongside Luke Mathews and Jeff Riseley. Peter was born in Khartoum before moving to Australia as a refugee from war-torn Sudan as a six-year-old. His family moved to Perth and Peter only spoke Arabic. Today, he is based in Melbourne with coach Justin Rinaldi and is completing a Bachelor of Construction & Management.

9.       Ryan Gregson and Genevieve LaCaze are the athletics section’s glamour couple. They have been together for three years, with Ryan set to compete in the 1500m shortly after LaCaze competes in the 3000m steeplechase and 5000m.

10.   Jared Tallent will compete in the 50km walk as the reigning Olympic champion. He was elevated to the top of the podium after doping cheat Sergey Kirdyapkin was banned from the sport, with his gold medal presented in Melbourne in June.

11.   Jared Tallent will double-up twice at Rio 2016. He will compete in the 20km walk and the 50km walk, as well as be an athlete and a coach, guiding his sister, Rachel, in the 20km walk just moments after his own race finishes.

12.   Alana Boyd will compete in the pole vault at her third Olympic Games, continuing a strong family tradition after both her parents previously donned the green and gold of Australia. Her father and coach, Ray, was also a pole vaulter, while her mother, Denise, was a sprinter.

13.   The athletics section boasts siblings of other sport stars, too, with Jessica Trengove the older sister of Jack Trengove from the AFL’s Melbourne Football Club. Brandon Starc is the younger brother of Australian cricketer Mitchell Starc.

14.   Benn Harradine is the only indigenous athlete on the athletics team for Rio 2016. He will continue the rich history of representation by Aboriginal Australians, including Catherine Freeman, Kyle Van Der Kuyp and Patrick Johnson.

15.   Kurtis Marschall and Jessica Thornton are the youngest male and female athletes on the athletics section. Both will compete just weeks after starting at the IAAF World Under 20 Championships.

16.   Scott Westcott and Lisa Weightman are the oldest male and female athletes on the team. Weightman is competing at her third Olympic Games in the marathon, while Westcott is a debutant. He will also compete across 42.195km.

17.   Morgan Mitchell is a strict vegan, with the 400m sprinter partially crediting her change of diet to her impressive recent form that includes a new personal best of 51.25, more than one second faster than 2015.

18.   Eloise Wellings, Lisa Weightman, Scott Westcott and Chris Erickson will all compete at the Olympic Games as parents. Eloise has a daughter, Indi, Lisa has a son, Peter, while Scott and Chris both have two children.

19.   The athletics team has won 21 gold, 25 silver and 25 bronze at previous Olympic Games. How many medals can this team add to the history books?

20.   Competition in athletics will span ten days from 12 August, with 47 medal events on the timetable.

Originally posted by Olympics.com.au