More than 400 Australian athletes are currently in Rio De Janeiro preparing themselves for the biggest competition of their lives – the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Incredibly, nine of those inspirational Aussies competing in Brazil have a special local connection either through birth, residency, school or training base.
Over the next 16 days, we encourage you to gather up your green and gold, and cheer on our local athletes to Olympic glory.
Leonay’s Jessica Fox is our biggest chance for gold at Rio after winning the silver medal at the London Olympics at just 18-years-old.
The Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympics will screen live on Channel Seven on Saturday, August 6 from 9am.
Channel Seven will screen more than 900 hours of Olympic content across their entire network and dedicated Olympic website.
Here’s your guide to the locals competing:
Name: Melissa Wu, 24
Sport: Diving
Event: 10m Platform Women
Born: Penrith
Name: Shelley Watts, 28
Sport: Boxing
Event: 60kg Women
Secondary Training Base: Penrith
Name: Jake Packard, 22
Sport: Swimming
Event: 100m Breaststroke Men, 4 x 100m Medley Relay Men
Born: Penrith
Name: Jessica Fox, 22
Sport: Kayak – Slalom
Event: K1 Women
Lives: Leonay
Primary School: Leonay Public School
Primary Training Base: Penrith
Name: Ben St Lawrence, 34
Sport: Athletics
Event: 10,000m Men
Born: Penrith
Name: Ian Borrows, 26
Sport: Canoe – Slalom
Event: C1 Men
Club: Penrith Valley Canoeing
Primary Training Base: Penrith
Name: Amanda Spratt, 28
Sport: Cycling
Event: Road Race Women
Born: Penrith
Club: Penrith Cycling Club
Name: Lucien Delfour, 27
Sport: Kayak – Slalom
Event: K1 Men
Lives: Penrith
Primary Training Base: Penrith
Name: Daniel Lewis, 22
Sport: Boxing
Event: 75kg Men
Born: Penrith
Primary School: Londonderry Public School
Secondary Training Base: Londonderry
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender’s Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.
