Dreams come true: Leading athletes named in Australian Olympic squad

Hamilton's Melissa Tapper and Bookaar's Penny Smith will both represent Australia once again on the international stage after Table Tennis Australia and Shooting Australia named their respective squads on Thursday, June 27, 2024.

Tapper, a dual Olympian and Paralympian will head to her third Olympics in a strong six-person table tennis team, which features three athletes in their 30s and three teenagers on debut.

The 34-year-old made history in 2016 as the first Australian to compete in both the Paralympics and Olympics in any sport and said it was a privilege to be selected.

"I can't actually believe it. The goal as a kid was to qualify for an Olympics, I now am getting to head off to my third," she said.

"I always just want to play my best table tennis every time I step out on the court, but if I can inspire just one young girl to get active in sport or a child with a disability to believe they can be whatever they want, then that's the real achievement."

She went through undefeated in the Table Tennis Australian qualification trials recently to lock in her place.

"That was absolutely a dream moment. It's the first time I have won a qualification tournament and to do it undefeated with my husband Simon, who is also my coach, was the most special thing," she said.

"To win the last point and know that I earnt my spot with my parents watching on was a moment that will be with me forever."

Bookaar-raised trap shooter Penny Smith, meanwhile, is among ten athletes named in Shooting Australia's squad.

The 29-year-old Camperdown-based shooter will compete for the second time at Olympic level after her maiden appearance at Tokyo 2020.

Smith, who came through the South West Academy and is a product of the Noorat Gun Club, will be hoping to go one better in the women's trap event after reaching the final in Tokyo and placing sixth.

She has enjoyed strong preparation with a recent silver medal at the International Sport Shooting Federation World Cup final in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday, May 5. She won silver in the women's trap final, her 11th medal at the ISSF World Cup, adding to her six golds, two silvers and two bronze medals.

The Australian team will have nine athletes return to the games with Joshua Bell named for his debut.

Shooting - one of the original sports in the Olympic programme, made its debut at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 with Australia winning its first medal in 1908.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be held from Friday, 26 July, 2024 to August 11, 2024.