2024 Paris Olympics: Nina Kennedy, Matt Wearn and Annabelle McIntyre among WA athletes hunting for gold

There are 51 athletes hailing from Western Australia in the final stages of their preparation for what they hope will be a life-changing experience in Paris. These are the Sandgropers most likely to challenge for gold. Nina Kennedy (pole vault) The Bunbury pole vaulter will be out for redemption after her Tokyo preparations were thwarted by injury, and then her semifinal was prematurely ended by inclement weather. But three years on, Kennedy enters the games as one of the favourites, thanks to a bronze medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, before she shared the gold at last year’s event. Kennedy will enter Paris as the world number one in her discipline, and while the gold is far from a sure thing, two of her top four personal best heights have come in the past few weeks. Matt Wearn (sailing) A Royal Perth Yacht Club junior and Freamantle Sailing Club alumni, Wearn has claimed medal after medal over the past decade. With several Laser medals earned at World Championships already to his name, Wearn won the ILCA 7 category in Tokyo three years ago, ending his debut Olympics with a gold medal. Having won gold at both the 2023 and 2024 World Championships, expect Wearn to once again challenge for top honours. Annabelle McIntyre (rowing) Hamilton Hill’s finest rowing export is no stranger to the Olympics, having won gold in the Australian women’s four in Tokyo. Alongside Jessica Morrison, Rosemary Popa and Lucy Stephan, McIntyre helped her team edge out the Dutch to win gold by just 0.34 seconds. McIntyre will reunite with Morrison as they go for gold in the women’s pairs — and early indications are good, with the duo claiming silver at last year’s world championships. Matthew Richardson (cycling) The Warwick track cyclist raced into the hearts of Australians at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he won dual golds in the individual and team sprint. Richardson is also a threat in keirin, soaring to a world ranking two in the discipline, and will contest both the sprint and keirin in Paris. The 25-year-old won both national titles earlier this year and has enjoyed a strong run of form in the UCI Track Champions League, and will also be part of the team sprint in Paris. Matthew Ebden (tennis) It was sadly not to be for Ebden, his initial Olympic plans scuppered after Storm Hunter went down with an Achilles issue, thwarting the Perth duo’s plans to team up in the mixed doubles. But Ebden will still have a presence in Paris as he prepares to join forces with fellow veteran John Peers. Ranked third in the world, Ebden and men’s doubles partner Rohan Bopanna reached the French Open semifinals after winning the Australian Open in January. Maddison Keeney (diving) The long-tenured and accomplished springboard diver is back for her third Olympics after missing Tokyo. A Churchlands Senior High School graduate, Keeney won bronze in the synchronised 3m in Rio back in 2016, and won both the individual and synchronised finals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She will contest both again in Paris, and will link up with Anabelle Smith in the synchronised after the pair took home silver at January’s world championships. Hannah Green (golf) For all the (deserved) attention on Min Woo and Minjee Lee, another West Aussie — Mt Lawley Golf Club’s Green — flies under the radar. Wins at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and JM Eagle LA Championship and a second-place finish at the Mizuho Americas Open have pushed her up the LPGA rankings. Entering Paris as the world number six, Green has every chance at upsetting the apple cart and claiming Olympic gold. Caitlin Parker (boxing) The Gosnells boxer has won silver and bronze at the last two Commonwealth Games; now she hopes to complete the set in Paris. The 28-year-old middleweight made 2023 a year to remember with gold at the Pacific Games and a silver at the World Championships. With a string of impressive performances under her belt heading into the Olympics, this looms as Parker’s best shot yet to claim victory. Jack Robinson (surfing) The world number three from Margaret River will not be joining his fellow Australians in Paris; Tahiti will be his playground, with the French Republic country hosting the surfing. His Margaret River Pro win earlier this year cemented him as one of the world’s best surfers, although he will face stiff opposition in the form of John John Florence and Griffin Colapinto, the two Americans above him in the World Surf League Rankings.