Rose, Scott and Azzopardi are joining the Australian Olympic Committee’s largest delegation so far since Tokyo and Athens, among 460 athletes consisting of 256 women and 204 men that Chef de Mission Anna Meares described “likely to be the third largest delegation in Paris.”
While the youngest of the delegation is 14-year-old skateboarder Alisa Trew, Rose at 51 is the oldest of the Aussie athletes competing in a total of 33 sporting events, with 226 of them competing in multi-sporting events.
The team has 62 holders of Olympic medals, among them Western Sydney’s canoeing champions Jessica Fox, a gold medalist in 2012, and her sister Noemie Fox breaking record this year in canoe sprint.
Just months prior to Rose’s selection, a video of him mounted on his horse wearing a “cheeky mankini” went viral as he took part in a social riding event in the Southern Highlands last February.
Then in March, Rose had a fall off his horse while training at his Werombi property, fracturing his pelvic bones that required extensive rehabilitation, at some point almost losing hope of going to this year’s Olympics.
“No one is guaranteed of anything in this sport,” Rose said in a statement to media of his Olympics return.
“This might be my last chance of going to an Olympic Games so I am doing everything in my powers to be there, and to do as well as I can at this one.”
Rose is competing with his prized horse, Virgil, a gelding, and hoping as much luck since his recovery.
Rose has been competing in equestrian events since age 21, tasting his Olympics debut in Atlanta in 1996, and winning with his horse All Luck at Beijing in 2008 bringing home the silver medal, bronze medal at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and another silver at Tokyo in 2020.
“I’m sure Shane’s fighting spirit will be on display for us all to see in Paris. He has worked so hard to get there. I know Wollondilly will be behind him all the way,” said Wollondilly mayor Matt Gould.
Scott, a 36-year-old equestrian jumper resided at The Oaks from age 10, displaying her talent at The Oaks Pony Club.
Her mother Alice Cameron has trained some of the best horses at their family business, Oaks Sports Horses, including Oaks Milky Way, that Hillary mounts in the Paris equestrian showjumping event.
Hillary trained Milky Way as a foal and their “incredible bond” grew even stronger since breaking in as a mare.
They are well-known as a team, winning bronze medal for the Australian team at the 2020 Nations Cup in Florida, FEI
World Championship in Denmark in 2022 and 2023 Nations Cup in Barcelona.
With her horse Oaks Miss Scarlet, Scott won both the Australian Young Rider Championship and Tonimbuk World Cup in 2011.
“I began riding before I cold walk because horses were just part of the farm [in The Oaks],” Scott said.
“Mum used to lead us around as soon as we could ride on our own we would help with mustering cattle.”
Scott attributed her passion for the sport to all other “passionate people” that encouraged her to compete in the global stage, including her other showjumping mentors, John and Michelle Kelly.
She currently lives in the Netherlands while competing in equestrian across Europe and the Unites States. They have made Wollondilly proud,” Mayor Gould said.
Wollondilly MP Judy Hannan has made her warm send offs to the three athletes, posting in her social media that the region has a “strong showing of Olympians from our electorate to go for gold in Paris.”
Ms Hannan said she was “honoured to announce Azzopardi, a resident of Theresa Park will be competing with the Athletics [team] in the 4 x 100 metre relay.”
Azzopardi is among the 75-member track and field squad, and among the 231 first timers in the Paris Olympic Games.
Though there is a huge number of debutante athletes, Ms Meares said she was proud and confident of the “experienced team” who has competed in 334 Olympic events all up in their sporting careers.
Ms Meares also recalled the make-up of the Australian athletes in the Paris Olympics in 1924 had no women at all, but this year, women athletes comprise more than half of the entire delegation.
“It’s a team with the highest percentage of women in our Olympic history, a far cry from Paris 1924,” Ms Meares said.
At least 643 family and friends of the athletes have registered to the AOC to witness the Paris games which preparations has been meticulous compared with the Tokyo planning in 2020, Ms Meares said.
“It’s a hard moment but they have made dreams possible for others, in many cases lifted those selected to the standard required to gain selection,” Ms Meares said.
