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The youngest, swimmer Emily Seebohm, has just turned 16. The eldest, equestrian rider Laurie Lever, is 60. Eight are indigenous Australians. One in 10 were born overseas, in places as diverse as Mauritius, Macedonia, Mexico and Malawi – reflecting the multicultural nation they now represent.
True Olympic spirit found in those who come last
More than half of them are new to the Olympic Games, while rower James Tomkins is competing at his sixth.
Some are married couples. Others are brothers, sisters or cousins.
Rower Sam Conrad is a third generation Olympian while pole vaulter Alana Boyd’s parents both wore the green and gold in Montreal in 1976.
Together the 434 of them will be striving to maintain Australia’s proud sporting record when they compete in the 26th modern Olympic Games in Beijing.
AOC director of sport Fiona de Jong believes the nation of 21 million people has the firepower to remain in the top five on the medal table, behind only China (1.325 billion), the US (305 million), Russia (142 million) and Germany (82 million).
“It’s going to be tough … (but) our athletes will do us proud in Beijing,” de Jong said at the official naming of the Australian team.
The AOC’s number crunchers predict a medal haul of between 42 and 46, with as many as 20 of them gold.
Australia’s overall medal tally in summer Games stands at 399 – 121 gold, 126 silver and 152 bronze.
Cyclist Cadel Evans, currently wearing the leader’s yellow jersey in the Tour de France, might well mount another podium in Beijing and win his nation’s 400th Olympic medal – in the men’s road race on the first morning of Games competition.
Much of Australia’s anticipated success will come in or on the water – in swimming, diving, women’s water polo, rowing, sailing and triathlon.
As usual the swimmers will provide around a third of the medal haul, with world record holders Grant Hackett, Libby Trickett, Leisel Jones, Eamon Sullivan, Jessicah Schipper and Stephanie Rice leading the way.
The diving team is also strong, though the host nation appears to have a mortgage on many of the gold medals in that discipline.
Rowing is Australia’s largest division with 48 athletes, Australia being the only nation – and the second ever – to qualify crews in all 14 events.
Australia’s sailing crews, five of them current world champions, will set out with confidence on the sailing course at Qingdao, now mercifully cleared of the algal outbreak that last month turned it into a bright green Sargasso Sea.
Star triathlete Emma Snowsill will plunge into the 1.5km open water swim at the start of her event hoping to keep intact an unbeaten record in 2008.
The final make-up of the team is subject to appeals by modern pentathlete Angie Darby, cyclist Chris Jongewaard, and sprinter Patrick Johnson.
A decision is expected later today on mountain biker Jongewaard, who is facing hit-and-run and drink-driving offences relating to an accident near Adelaide last year which left fellow cyclist Matthew Rex with severe head injuries.
A decision on Darby will be known overnight after a hearing in Monaco by the world governing body for modern pentathlon, while Johnson’s case remains in the Court of Arbitration for sport.
De Jong expects medical problems caused by air quality, heat and humidity to be the team’s biggest challenge.
The athletes will be supported by a staff of 319 officials, including a medical team of 75.