Why Australia is poised for a huge Games in Paris, and our best result on international soil

With the countdown to the Games well and truly on for the nations best athletes, JULIAN LINDEN takes a look at who wins medals for Australia and why it’s all set up for a huge summer in Paris.

For Australia’s finest athletes, there’s no turning back now.

The countdown to the official start of the Paris Olympics has reached 100 days.

It’s a significant milestone being commemorated in every corner of the globe, whetting the appetite ahead of the biggest international get-together since the Covid pandemic changed everything.

If the French authorities pull it off safely, their ambitious plans to stage the Opening Ceremony on the River Seine on July 26 will serve as a spectacular reminder of the power and resilience of the human spirit to overcome anything.

For Australians, struggling with the cost of everyday living, Paris 2024 also promises to be a magical event that will tug at the heartstrings.

One reason is the alluring charm of the City of Love, with events taking place against a backdrop of art, culture and some of the world’s most iconic monuments, including the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.

Paris is set to put on a show for the Olympics. Picture: AFP

But another is the growing confidence of just how well the Australian team could perform, because nothing lifts the nation’s mood more than seeing Aussies succeed on the international stage.

The Olympics have always been a part of Australia’s sporting DNA but the national team’s results have been steadily declining over the last quarter of a century.

At the Sydney 2000 Games, Australia won a record 58 medals and finished fourth overall on the medals table, but by Rio 2016, Australia had slumped to 10th, with a paltry return of just 29 medals.

But things did turn around at the last Olympics at Tokyo in 2021, with Australia winning 46 medals to finish in sixth place, and could be even better in France.

Could Jess Fox win gold for Australia in Paris? Picture: Bence Vekassy

Earlier this year, European data giant Gracenote Sports calculated Australia could win 48 medals in Paris, but News Corp’s own experts believe a bigger haul is on the cards.

Analysing the performances of Australia’s leading athletes and their overseas competitors since Tokyo, News Corp’s number crunchers are forecasting the 460+ member Australian team will win in excess of 50 medals this time - setting a new record for an overseas Olympics and climbing back into the top five for the first time in two decades.

Kaylee McKeown reacts after winning and breaking the women's 50m backstroke world record. Picture: Getty Images

This will come as no surprise, but the findings show the biggest contributor will once again be the swimming team, with News Corp’s calculations predicting the 2024 squad could be the greatest Dolphins school ever assembled.

That’s a big call, particularly as the combined pool and open water swim team captured a record 21 medals in the Japanese capital, including nine gold, but highly possible.

Team officials never say how many medals they expect to win because they don’t want to jinx anyone, but the early statistics for Paris suggest that while the swimmers will need a slice of luck to match the nine golds won in Tokyo, their overall medal count record is under threat.

Peter Bol will be one to look out for in Paris. Picture: Getty Images

Australia’s depth in swimming is strongest in the relays - which now total seven with the addition of a mixed medley - and the women’s events.

While there’s still plenty of fire left in veteran performers including Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell and her sister Bronte, it’s the young guns who are now leading the way, notably Mollie O’Callaghan, Kaylee McKeown, Ariarne Titmus and Shayna Jack.

While not as strong as the women’s team, the men also boast a nice mix of established performers and up and coming stars.

Breaststroker Zac Stubblety-Cook, the only Australian male swimmer to win gold in Tokyo, is looking to his 200m crown in Paris while Cam McEvoy and Kyle Chalmers both won world titles in freestyle sprints last year so have medal hopes.

Sam Short is a star on the rise. Picture: Sam Short

But the rising star of the men’s team is undoubtedly distance freestyler Sam Short, who has a genuine shot at getting on the podium in three different distances - 400m, 800m and 1500m.

If all goes as expected, and that’s no guarantee, Australia could win medals in over a dozen different sports including rowing, athletics, cycling, sailing, basketball, boxing, canoeing, diving, equestrian, football, golf, hockey, rugby, skateboarding, surfing, tennis and beach volleyball.

That can wait for now.

For all the Aussie athletes with their hearts set on winning gold, the 100-day countdown is also a blunt reminder there’s no time left to waste.

Currently the clock to Paris is being measured by months, weeks and days but soon enough, it’ll come down to hours and minutes then finally the tiny fractions of seconds that separates the winners and losers.

The final countdown has begun.

Originally published as Why Australia is poised for a huge Games in Paris, and our best result on international soil