French Olympic president Brigitte Henriques tells Brisbane to start preparing now for 2032

Queensland must not waste its 11-year lead in time for the Brisbane 2032 Games, according to the French Olympic president during a visit to the city.

Queensland must properly prepare its pipeline of future athletes “now” for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the head of France’s Olympic governing body saying the nation had not given itself enough time in the run-up to Paris 2024.

French National Olympic and Sports Committee president Brigitte Henriques, in a whistlestop visit to Brisbane, also said Queensland’s longer lead in time to the 2032 Games meant it could expand its local sporting infrastructure to develop athletes and create sporting legacy.

There is now 15 months until the 2024 Games in Paris, with the French capital given a total of seven years to prepare between being given hosting rights and the opening ceremony.

But Queensland will have had the luxury of an 11 year lead in time.

Ms Henriques said it was “really important” for Queensland to prepare its athletes in the “best way” it can, lamenting that the concerted push for rising sports stars occurred about four years ago which was “not enough” time.

French National Olympic and Sport Committee president Brigitte Henriques. Picture: Richard Walker

She said there was a lack of sporting infrastructure in Paris for certain sports, including basketball and volleyball, signalling a strong base of training spots meant more people could participate — making the pool of potential Olympians larger.

Her comments come after Australian Olympic Chief executive Matt Carroll, in a Press Club address in late March, for $2bn in federal funding for pathway and high performance sports programs.

He said the home side would be at a disadvantage at the 2032 Games without the cash boost and an overhaul of how sport is managed at a national level.

Queensland’s peak sport authority has also warned of a shortage of facilities for grassroots clubs and players amid growing demand in the lead up to the 2032 games.

AOC president Ian Chesterman and Brigitte Henriques met in Brisbane on Saturday. Picture: Richard Walker

Ms Henrique and Australian Olympic Committee counterpart Ian Chesterman signed a memorandum of understanding in Brisbane on Saturday, agreeing to work together on issues like doping, abuse in sport, and commercial and marketing strategy best practice.

In a common theme for the 2024 and 2032 Games, Paris and Brisbane are cities built around a meandering river — though only the Seine is scheduled to feature as a Games venue.

Declared biologically dead in the 1960s, with swimming banned since 1923, French officials will spend $2.3bn resuscitating the Seine in a complex clean-up effort.

Ms Henriques said a swimmable Seine would be a great legacy of the Games, and would be a significant driver of tourism and a major positive for Parisians.

The largest predator fish in the Seine is the European catfish, which can reach lengths of 2.5 metres but is arguably less of a danger to human life than the biggest threat in the Brisbane River — bull sharks.