Thursday, 1 August 2024

Paris Olympics

Sam GROTH (Nepean) (10:59): As we all know, the Olympics are in full swing, and I just want to acknowledge some of those Olympians from my electorate of Nepean competing over there in Paris: Emily Whitehead, who is a part of the women’s gymnastics team; Eileen Cikamatana, who will represent Australia in the women’s weightlifting; and Caitlin Parker, who the Dromana community has gotten heavily behind, is in the women’s boxing.

Last week I had the opportunity to go out to Rye Primary School and show them my Olympic uniform from Rio in 2016. I know it does not fit quite as well as it used to, but the students there really embraced the opportunity to talk everything Olympics. They will compete in their own Olympic day tomorrow at school, embracing everything that is the Olympic Games and the values that they represent. Of course I got so many questions from them about what the Olympics means. We are one of only two countries to compete in every modern Olympics since 1896, and there have only been 4315 Olympians representing Australia. So while I got asked the question if I had ever won a medal, of course the answer was no, but I am very, very proud to be a part of that small Australian cohort that can forever call themselves an Olympian, and I do encourage, just as the Australian Olympic team is doing, that everyone tomorrow embraces green and gold day in support of our athletes, whether they are at home, at work or at school. Get behind our Olympic team and wear green and gold to work tomorrow.