Australia launches major athletic talent search ahead of Brisbane 2032

CANBERRA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has launched its largest-ever search for athletic talent for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane.
The AIS, Australia’s government-funded high-performance sports training center, on Tuesday announced it has partnered with all states and territories, Paralympics Australia and over 40 major sports for the Future Green and Gold campaign.
Under the campaign, the AIS will lead Australia’s greatest talent search to identify the next generation of the country’s sport champions and fast-track their development in the lead-up to Brisbane 2032.
“We have an ambitious goal to have the best Olympic and Paralympic team ever in Brisbane, and to achieve this, we need to significantly boost our current talent pool, in particular our para-athletes,” Matti Clements, Executive General Manager of AIS Performance, said in a statement.
“Off the back of Australia’s success in Paris, this is the best time to leverage that passion and encourage eligible Australians to put their names forward.”
The search will focus on Australians aged 13-23 for Olympic sports and 13-plus for Paralympic sports.
Eligible participants will be invited to their closest clinic to have their strengths and skills measured. Those who show potential will undertake a trial with a recommended sport before potentially being offered a position in a Talent Development Program.
Current athletes will also be offered the opportunity to transition to a different sport.
Brisbane, the capital of the northeastern state of Queensland, was awarded hosting rights for the 2032 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2021. It will mark the third time the Olympics have been held in Australia after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.
In May, the federal government committed 249.7 million Australian dollars (166.1 million U.S. dollars) to upgrade AIS facilities in Canberra ahead of the 2032 games.
In August, the AIS said it would double the number of Australia’s Paralympic coaches in the lead-up to 2032.
Australian athletes won a record-breaking 18 gold medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, putting the nation fourth on the medal tally.
However, at the subsequent Paralympics Australia finished ninth on the medal table – also with 18 gold medals – representing the country’s lowest ranking since the 1988 games in Seoul. ■