‘Allez, allez’: Local Olympians ready for Paris

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‘Allez, allez’: Local Olympians ready for Paris

Malin Dunfors

25 July 2024, 3:26 AM

‘Allez, allez’: Local Olympians ready for Paris

Front cover of The Bugle, print edition 13-26 July

When the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics kicks off in less than two weeks, ten local athletes will compete on the biggest sports stage in the world.

The Australian Olympic team also features the highest percentage of women in Olympic history, almost 56 per cent. Two of them who’ll don the green and gold are Hockeyroos’ co-captain and forward Grace Stewart, and tennis player Ellen Perez.

This will be Grace’s third appearance after Rio 2016 where she made her Olympic debut and Tokyo 2020.

“I think Paris is going to be incredible with everyone’s friends and families here, especially compared to Tokyo where we had no crowds,” the Gerringong-native says over the phone from Perth.

Twenty-seven-year-old Stewart moved out west in 2016 after being awarded a Hockey Australia Scholarship to train with the senior team.

Credit: Photo supplied by Grace Stewart.

The Hockeyroos hope “to come home with a medal this time,” she continues. In Rio, the team lost to New Zealand in the quarter finals, and at Tokyo, India put an end to their Olympic dreams.

But since then, they have worked a lot on the mental side of things. Because if it’s one thing that Stweart has learned from previous Olympics, it’s that, “nothing else matters until you turn up and perform on that day”.

Stewart’s sister Lilly and Demi, along with her parents, will be watching from the stands in Paris. Both of her sisters are former hockey players, having represented NSW.

“They like to tell me that they could definitely have been in the Hockeyroos if they stuck to it, so I tell them to come back and we can all play together,” she laughs.

Playing with her sisters, cousins and best friends in Gerringong is how it all began.

“That’s why hockey was so fun. Then I was lucky enough to continue down this path and get to where I am today. But it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t started playing in Gerringong on the grassfields and fallen in love with the game there,” she says.

Credit: Photo supplied by Grace Stewart.

Ellen Perez, Tennis Australia, grew up a bit further north of Gerringong, in Shellharbour. As a junior, she played for Oak Flats Tennis Club.

Currently, 28-year-old Perez ranks as the seventh best female doubles player in the world, having won her biggest WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) doubles title this year.

The Tokyo Olympics, her first, saw Perez partnering with her childhood hero Sam Stosur in the women’s double event. The team advanced to the quarter finals.

“It was a huge honour,” she says over the line from Wimbledon.

“Also, a huge responsibility. She was putting a lot of trust in me and she saw me as someone that she could do well with. Yeah, it was nerve-wracking but it was really exciting.”

In Paris, where Perez will play doubles with Daria Saville, it’s coming full circle.

Photo credit: Getty Images.

“When I played in Tokyo, Sam was the leader in the team, the person who got me into the draw. Now, I’ll take that role as a leader and guide Daria.”

Perez doesn’t want to set the expectations too high but believes the pair can win gold.

“It’s a very open field. But that’s the thing, the Olympics isn’t even always about who’s the best tennis player but about who handles the occasion the best.”

Ahead of her second Olympics, Perez says growing up in a smaller, more rural area has given her a sense of pride.

It wasn’t always the easiest though. “Not so many opportunities, not so many girls to train with.”

But now, it’s become a source of motivation.

Photo credit: Getty Images.

“I want to show people that you don’t have to come from everything, in order to make it. Hopefully, it inspires other kids to see that you can come through, coming from the Illawarra.”

There’s been quite a few Olympians from the area, which is cool to see, she adds.

On the 460 athletes-strong Australian Olympic team, announced on 10 July, the following athletes are from the South Coast area:

Jessica Hull, 1500m

Age: 27

Place of birth: Wollongong

Hometown: Wollongong

High school: Albion Park High School

Junior club: Albion Park Little Athletics Club

Senior Club: Bankstown Sports Senior Athletics

Olympic history: Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024

Social media: @jessicaahull

Sarah Carli, 400m hurdles