Trio takes historic Australian Olympic marathon swimming team to Paris 2024
For the first time in Olympic history, four Australian athletes will win gold medals in the Seine 10km marathon in July.
Australia will send a full team of four players along with the Queensland pair mosha johnson and Nicholas Sloman and Western Australia Kyle Lee announced today that it will make its Olympic debut in Paris in 2024.
The trio joins the 2023 World Championship silver medalists Chelsea Gubekawas the first athlete to be selected for the Australian team for last year's Paris Olympics, making Australia, along with hosts France, the only two countries to have secured all four marathon swimming spots at the Paris Olympics.
French Connection: Moesha Johnson, Nick Sloman, Kyle Lee, Chelsea Gubeka. Photo Derry Carr (Australian Swimming)
Four athletes will attempt a 10km marathon swim on the iconic River Seine, 124 years after Olympic swimming was held there at the 1900 Paris Olympics. Sydney's Freddie Lane won a double gold medal at the Olympics, becoming Australia's first Olympic swimming medal.
australian head coach rohan taylor The quartet knows they have a team to rival the best in the world as they aim to become Australia's first marathon gold medal since the inaugural Olympics in Beijing in 2008.
Out of four Olympics, Australia has won one bronze medal. Karina Lee In Tokyo 2021, there will be an intense race for the podium, and there will always be a photo shoot at the end.
“Having the Dolphins join the likes of France as the only countries with a full complement in Paris shows how far we have come and the success of our open water program,” Taylor said. Told.
“I’m so excited to see Mo, Nick and Kyle from Australia and around the world who have worked so hard to make their Olympic dreams come true. Our group (along with Chelsea) has now matured and we are reaching our potential. We are turning it into an opportunity.
“They've honed their skills and really grown as a group. Like the entire Dolphins team, these four are really committed to making each other better, and it's going to be exciting to see what they do in Paris.” I can’t wait.”
The Australian Olympic Committee announced today that the swimmers have secured Australia's Olympic spots at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, with Johnson narrowly missing out on the women's podium in fourth place, and Sloman and Lee each in the men's pool. They finished 5th and 9th in their events.
Although he has only competed in a handful of international 10km races, pool-turned-competitor Johnson has already proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with on the international open water circuit. Sloman has won five national championships and medaled six times on the World Cup stage, but Lee was the anchor leg of the mixed 4×1500 meter relay at the world championships in February, defeating Italy to become competitive. He demonstrated his instincts and won the gold medal for Australia.
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Gold Coast local Johnson will join fellow Queenslander Gbecka on the Seine, marking the first time Australia has had two women compete in the Olympic Games since it was included in the 2008 Olympic Games. .
The 26-year-old said she couldn't believe she was competing in her first Olympics in Paris.
“It wasn't until I told my mom, 'I'm buying a Qantas ticket to Paris,' that it started to feel real,” Johnson said. “Open water swimming is a very humbling sport and the environment is always different. There are so many tactics and it's really challenging.”
Podium pose: Australia's unforgettable gold medal-winning World Championship relay team of Kyle Lee, Nick Sloman, Chelsea Gbecca and Moesha Johnson await at Doha World Paris. Photo courtesy of World Aquatics.
“I can’t wait to represent the Dolphins, but also to experience The Village, join other Australian athletes and be part of that camaraderie and Australian pride.”
Mr. Sloman said that today's selection was the realization of a goal he had been working on for 11 years.
“I still feel really good about being selected for the Australian Olympic team. It's such an honour,” Sloman said.
“I was able to get this boarding pass to Paris because of people like my coach John Rogers who supported me and my teammates who continued to push me. A lot. I would like to thank the people who have helped me along the way. It hasn't been an easy path, but it's been a very rewarding one.”
Lee, a 22-year-old rising star from Western Australia, reflected on the special moments shared by his teammates in Doha.
“When Nick and I finished the 10km race in Doha, I was in the water counting the number of competitors around me, and being able to share that moment with Nick was really special,” Kyle said.
“It was really special to be able to fill four spots as a team. The whole program has worked so hard and we are all so excited to see open water swimming grow so much. and generally excited.”
Australian Olympic Team Executive Chef Anna Mears congratulated the athletes on their selection, saying: “Being selected for your first Olympic team is a special moment and recognizes the years of hard work you all have dedicated to your sport. It's a proof of patience.
“Having all four athletes qualify for the Olympics for the first time is a fantastic achievement. It is not only a great reflection on the four athletes, but also the incredible depth of talent that exists here in Australia. It also highlights the strength of the Dolphins program.
“We would like to thank the athletes’ families, friends and supporters and the Australian Swimming Team for playing such an important role in their Olympic journey.”
australian marathon swim team
2024 Paris Olympics
male:
Nick Sloman (Noosa, Queensland, coach) john rogers)
Kyle Lee (Washington State North Coast, coach) Ian Mills)
woman:
Mosha Johnson (Coach, Griffith University, Queensland) Bernd Berghahn, Michael Ball, Janelle Pallister)
Chelsea Gbecca (Yeronga Park, Queensland, coach) kate sparks)
