Brisbane Olympics 2032: Why Ash Barty is perfect candidate to light cauldron

Ash Barty’s drought breaking Australian Open win - iconic as it was - might one day become her second greatest memory on Australian soil, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.

If there such a thing as a worthy 10-year sports tip this is it - Ash Barty to light the flame at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

If Naomi Osaka can light Tokyo’s Olympic cauldron despite leaving her country of birth at age three, what chance is a genuine home-anchored hero like Ash Barty who has lived her entire life a $50 Uber fare from where she would light the flame?

Relatability. Likability. Local relevance. Global fame. Sporting greatness. Does anything else count?

And, by total chance, a neat connection with the last person to do it in Australia, another female indigenous champion, Cathy Freeman in Sydney 2000.

Why Ash Barty (C) should become the second indigenous woman after Cathy Freeman (L) to light the Olympic flame in Australia.

Ten years is a long time in sport but Barty will take some shifting as the favourite to light the cauldron at the Brisbane 2032 Games.

Of course there will be a multitude of options emerge in the next 10 years but if one emerges that more suitable than Barty he or she will be a true standout.

We noted Barty’s Olympic flame chances after she won Wimbledon and, with every Grand Slam victory, they will continue to firm as her status grows – not so much fame but popularity and there is a difference.

Barty will be 36 at the start of the Games, probably in a comfortable retirement, perhaps with seven or eight Grand Slams and regarded as a genuine icon of her sport.

That’s just the start of it. Who she is as significant as what she has done.

Ash Barty is one of the most likeable athletes in the country. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty

Barty’s unassuming style radiates such pleasant vibes that the very sight of her would be greeted with universal warmth among athletes, sports fans and the wider world.

And talk about a selling point for her some state …

Broadcasters from around the globe are given facts to read out about torch bearers and Barty’s would be most local of local stories.

Something like: “Ash was born in Ipswich 44 kilometres away and has spent her life living just 35 kilometres away in Springfield. Of course she could live in Monaco or Bermuda but she just loves this region.’’

The reaction to Barty’s Australian Open win was universally warm.

And the greatest pages of her story may yet to be written.

Originally published as Brisbane Olympics 2032: Why Ash Barty is perfect candidate to light cauldron