Australia’s 472-strong team for the Tokyo Olympic Games features a record number of women and Indigenous athletes.
The team for the Games starting on July 23 includes 254 women and 218 men, with 16 Indigenous athletes.
The number of female athletes is 40 more than the nation’s previous most at a Games, at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
And the 16 Indigenous athletes is four more than at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Australia’s team is the second-largest to contest an away Olympics, 10 shy of the 482 athletes who contested the 2004 Athens Games.
Australians will compete in 33 sports in Tokyo including all four new Olympic sports of karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing.
At the Rio Games, Australia won eight gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals but the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has stopped publicly setting a medal target for the Games.
“The AOC has talked about not setting medal targets and placing unhelpful expectations on these athletes,” Australia’s chef de mission Ian Chesterman said in a statement on Monday.
“Given the events of the past 18 months, this has been the correct path, getting to the start line has been so difficult.
“They don’t need pressure from us.”
Equestrian veteran Andrew Hoy will contest his eighth Olympics, a record for an Australian.
And fellow equestrian stalwart Mary Hanna and table tennis’ Jian Fang Lay will compete at their sixth Games, a record for an Australian female.
Cyclist Cameron Meyer withdrew from the team for personal reasons at the weekend, when two changes were made to Australia’s men’s soccer team with Marco Tilio and Jay Rich-Baghuelou replacing Ramy Najjarine and Ruon Tongyik.
View the full list of the Australia Olympic team.
AAP
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