As South Australian-based athletes are fitted for their official uniforms, suddenly the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are one step closer

The countdown to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games is well and truly on and one more step closer for South Australia’s top athletes as they are officially fitted for uniforms.

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The long road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games became one step shorter yesterday when SA’s top athletes gathered at the South Australian Sports Institute for an official Olympic processing session.

More than 100 athletes from sports as diverse as cycling and athletics, to badminton and beach volleyball came together to be measured for their opening ceremony uniforms, be handed key Games information and have team photography taken.

Among them was beach volleyballer Mariafe Artacho del Solar, who along with her on-court partner Taliqua Clancy won Australia’s first world championship beach volleyball bronze medal in 16 years in July. The 25-year-old said attending the processing session made the dream of heading to her second Olympics all the more real.

“Days like today make it feel like we’re getting so close,” she said.

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Australia’s top beach volleyballers Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy are fitted with their new uniforms ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Picture: BRAD FLEET

“And we’re seeing all the other athletes come in and try on their uniform, it’s such a special moment and makes it really exciting.

“It gives you that extra motivation to keep working hard; to wake up every day and give it your all.”

Artacho del Solar and Clancy, 27, both competed at the 2016 Rio Games, but with different partners, and have now been on the court together for two years. Their world championship bronze was not only a crucial step towards Olympic qualification, but proof they would be strong medal contenders come Tokyo.

“There is a special chemistry we have on the court and it makes for a very exciting game … people really enjoy our style of volleyball,” Clancy said.

Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Kingaroy's Taliqua Clancy won bronze at the FIVB World Championships in July. Picture: FILE

Artacho del Solar agreed: “We are definitely going for gold in Tokyo next year.”

Tokyo 2020 Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman said this would be the first year since the Sydney 2000 Games that the Australian Olympic Committee would not predict the team’s final medal count.

“We want to give every athlete their opportunity to be their best and we don’t think adding a medal target actually helps them, it just puts more pressure on them,” he said.

“And the feedback from our athletes is that they put enough pressure on themselves, they don’t need us to put even more on them.”

Chesterman said of the 100 athletes who attended the processing day, at least half would qualify for the final team.

“SA has a great record of producing Olympians,” he said. “I think we had 52 in Rio, so a very significant number of that team were from SA and I’m sure there’ll be big numbers again.”

Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy of Australia during the Commonwealth Games in 2018 on the Gold Coast. They won the silver medal at that competition. Picture: RYAN PIERSE/GETTY IMAGES

Beach volleyballers Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy are well on their way to qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and will go into the Games with the aim of taking home a medal. Picture: BRAD FLEET

He said the entire Australian contingent heading to Tokyo could surpass the 482 who went to Athens in 2004, which was the biggest team that Australia has taken to an overseas Games.

“We’re thinking around 480 … so will we get to that mark? We’ll be there or thereabouts. It’s very exciting for the Australian Olympic Committee to take away a big team, we like to create more Olympians because we know they go back and are such great role models in their (communities).”

He also expected an even split of male and female athletes, adding that at the 2016 Rio Games, it was the first time in the country’s Olympic history that the team had more female than male athletes (214 women and 208 men).

Originally published as As South Australian-based athletes are fitted for their official uniforms, suddenly the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are one step closer