The fast and the fabulous: Australian athletes who shone at the Paris Olympics

The first Muslim woman to compete internationally as a boxer for Australia, Tina Rahimi, grew up in western Sydney. 


“I was your naughty, rebellious, funny, talkative little kid. I wasn’t a bad kid, but 
a bit of an extrovert,” she grins. “And I was happy.”

She was also sporty, but she didn’t begin boxing until she was 21. She took it up for fitness not long after she’d started working as a make-up artist.

Even today, as she speaks with The Weekly, Tina always appears in the ring wearing a neatly wrapped hijab and immaculate maquillage. It can take her competitors by surprise, but they
quickly learn not to underestimate her. She is a precise and powerful boxer.

In 2022, she won the Australian featherweight title, and she claimed gold at last year’s Pacific Games.

“Boxing has taught me so many life lessons,” Tina tells us. “It’s taught me resilience and discipline, sportsmanship and kindness. Sometimes you lose, and it’s taught me that’s not the end of the world. And these are lessons that carry over into life outside sport. You’ve just got to enjoy the journey, enjoy life’s process.”

Olympic Results:

Tina Rahimi competed in the Women’s Featherweight (57 kg) division for boxing. In her first match (preliminary Round of 16), she lost to Julia Szeremeta of Poland. Because she lost in that round, she did not progress to medal contention. She placed 9th in her weight class.

What is Tina up to now?

Tina has become an important role model in Australia, especially for Muslim women and girls. She has used her platform to speak out on issues around religious expression in sport — for example, she opposed France’s rules (for French athletes) banning hijabs during certain Olympic ceremonies.

Tina also maintains a strong social media presence and does work to encourage others to take up boxing, particularly from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds. She has an Instagram account “Boxing With Tina” aimed at outreach, motivation, and showing behind-the-scenes of her sport.

Since the Paris Olympics, Tina married her husband, Sami Ismail, in a Kateb Kitab (Islamic marriage contract signing ceremony) on 12 July 2025, which she shared on her Instagram.

She is also undergoing recovery from a successful surgery to remove K-wires from her hand that had shifted and were poking out! She shared that she has about 4-5 weeks of no punching, but she “can’t wait to get into training again.”

Ariarne Titmus might not just be our golden girl, one of the best Australian Olympic athletes, but she was also considered one of the best swimmers in the world, in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics.

At the Australian swimming trials in Brisbane, she beat the competition in every race she entered and smashed the 200m freestyle world record.

“The world record is a bonus,” 
she says. “I’m happy to … put together a swim that I know I’m capable of … It gives me really good confidence for the Olympics.”

The 23-year-old swimmer first captured global attention at the 2019 World Championships when she beat American Katie Ledecky (a now 21-time world champ) to the 400m freestyle gold. Next came her Tokyo Olympic victories, usurping the US star again in both the 400m and 200m events, and winning hearts all over Australia.

She’s aiming for gold in Paris and, she tells The Weekly, “I’m also swimming to see how much better I can get, and that gives me real joy.”

Paris Olympics result:

Ariarne defended her Olympic title in the women’s 400m freestyle, winning gold in a commanding swim. She led from start to finish, finishing in 3:57.49, ahead of Summer McIntosh (silver) and Katie Ledecky (bronze). In the 800m freestyle, she won silver, setting a new Oceanic record with a time of 8:12.29. Katie Ledecky won gold. In the 200m freestyle, she took silver as well — Mollie O’Callaghan won gold with an Olympic record, and Ariarne was just behind her. She was also part of the 4×200m freestyle relay team that won gold, helping Australia clinch yet another top finish in relays.

So, overall, her personal medal tally at the Paris Olympics was two gold medals and two silver medals!

What is Ariarne up to now?

Ariarne is still one of the top Australian Olympic athletes. She is currently taking a break for both physical and mental recovery, opting out of the 2025 World Championships in Singapore.

Before Paris, she had surgery to remove two benign ovarian tumours. and returned to training just two weeks later. That was a significant moment for her, prompting her to reevaluate her priorities and emphasising the importance of health. During her break, she’s spoken about enjoying the lack of structure, the reduction in pressure, and using the time to regain perspective, as well as the importance of feeling mentally ready before diving back into full training.

However, she has confirmed she plans to return to competitive swimming, targeting the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. They may be her final Olympic Games.

Paige Greco has proven she can reach the highest heights, but she has learnt that success does not protect you from devastating lows. The 27-year-old para-cyclist was born with cerebral palsy, and doctors told her parents that she may not be able to run. At school, she defied this.

She had her heart set on joining the athletics team for the Rio Paralympics, but when she wasn’t selected, she tried cycling. The strength, power and discipline she had developed as a runner made her a serious contender. 
Paige set three world records at the 2019 World Championships in the Netherlands and won gold at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

But while competing in Italy in 2023, her dream run was derailed by a serious crash. “I did think about walking away because it was really scary,” she says. “But I remembered that feeling – the enjoyment of being on the bike, being on the team, competing and winning – which I wanted to get back to.” After a long, hard recovery, Paige is now working towards gold in Paris.

“I can only
look forward,” she says.

Paris Olympics result:

Paige did not medal at the Paris Paralympics.

What is Paige up to now?

In 2022, Paige received the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020.

In 2023, Greco suffered a serious crash during a Para-cycling World Cup event in Italy, travelling ~45 km/h. She sustained multiple injuries — broken nose, concussion, facial injuries, etc. It was a significant physical and psychological hurdle. After that, she considered quitting the sport temporarily (or permanently), but with rehab and support, she decided to come back.

However, there are plenty of signs that she will be back for the LA 2028 Paralympics.

At the 2025 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Ronse, she won the bronze medal in the Women’s Road Race C3 and fifth in the Women’s Time Trial C3. She’s also been chosen for the 2025 Paralympic Champions team for Track Cycling World Championships. Plus, she got funding via the Para Athlete Barrier Fund through AusCycling and Paralympics Australia to continue her track/road cycling programs.

Torrie is officially Australia’s fastest woman after smashing the national 100m record in January, but 19-year-old Torrie Lewis is just getting started. “It was surreal when it happened. To keep having that title throughout this whole season, it’s been pretty amazing,” the sprinter told Wide World of Sports of 
her unexpected record-breaking run. Torrie’s preferred race is the 200m, which she blitzed at her 
Diamond League debut in China, beating the current 100m world champion, Sha’Carri Richardson. 
She started her sporting career as a gymnast, but her speed on the track was undeniable and she 
switched sports at age 11. Torrie is heading to Paris as part of the women’s 4x100m relay team.

Paris Olympics results:

Torrie Lewis made a triumphant Olympic debut at Paris 2024. In the women’s 200 metres, she ran a personal best of 22.89 seconds in her heat, which placed her fourth and pushed her into the repechage. From there, she progressed to the semi-finals, where she finished seventh overall.

She also featured in Australia’s 4×100 metre relay team, though they did not make it through to the final. For a teenager at her first Games, it was an encouraging performance that underlined her potential on the world stage.

What is Torrie up to now?

Training for her next race! Since Paris, Torrie has broken Australian records across multiple distances, including lowering her own national 100 metre record to 11.08 seconds in September 2025.

Earlier in the year, she also set a new national 60 metre indoor mark with a 7.14-second run in Belgrade. On the international circuit, she won silver in the 200 metres at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Lima and has stepped up to compete against senior athletes at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

She is now based in the Netherlands, where she works under renowned coach Laurent Meuwly.

Looking ahead, Torrie has set her sights firmly on becoming one of the best Australian athletes at the Olympics. Next stop, Los Angeles 2028!

Climbing isn’t a high-profile sport in Australia, so it’s a massive achievement that 21-year-old Oceana Mackenzie ranked seventh in the world.

Growing up in Melbourne with five sisters and parents (a microbiologist dad and an acupuncturist mum) whose hobby was climbing, Oceana was making a beeline for the climbing gym walls not long after she could walk.

Climbing is a physical sport, but it’s also very much about assessing the spatial geometry of a climb and devising a strategy, so quick thinking is essential.

“There is quite a bit of complexity to climbing,” she tells The Weekly. “Sometimes you can just look at it and go, ‘I actually have no idea how to climb this’.” Hopefully, that won’t happen in Paris, where Oceana will compete at her second Olympics.

Paris Olympics result:

Oceana made it into the Olympic final, which was a big step up from her Tokyo 2020 showing (where she placed 19th). She placed 3rd in the bouldering portion. She scored lower in the lead portion (45.1), which put her 7th in that discipline. Her combined score (boulder and lead) was 104.8, which gave her 7th overall.

What is Oceana up to now?

Oceana is still bouldering. She remains very active on the IFSC World Cup circuit in both bouldering and lead. She placed 3rd in a Boulder World Cup in Prague in 2024. She also made finals in Lead World Cup at Koper in 2024, finishing 4th — the first time an Australian had made a finals in Lead at a World Cup. And she’s set to represent Australia again in the 2025 IFSC World Cup events. LA better watch out for this Aussie boulderer!

Rachael is not only Australia’s first female Olympic-level breaking competitor but also the holder of a PhD in breaking culture. And that’s breaking, not “break dancing”, which is a term the media made up.

“I’ve danced my whole life,” says Rachael, who tried ballroom dancing, jazz, tap, studio hip hop, swing dancing and salsa. When she started breaking, something just clicked.
“I entered my first competition in 2012, and I did terribly. I forgot all my moves. I lost my beanie! 
But it was such a thrill. I was hooked.”

Now her goal – “to be the best I can be” – has led her to Paris.

Paris Olympic Results

Rachael’s first appearance at the Paris Olympics was an unforgettable one. Unfortunately, she didn’t score a single point, and the world stage was not impressed with her moves, one of which resembled a kangaroo hopping. She became a worldwide meme, and while she didn’t receive a medal, she did put breaking on the world stage!

What’s Raygun up top now?

In November 2024, she announced she would no longer compete in breaking. She cited the intense backlash, criticism, and how difficult it had become for her to approach battles after the scrutiny. She said she would still dance, but mainly for her own enjoyment.

Her story was even the inspiration for a musical by comedian Stephanie Broadbridge, which was cancelled after Raygun’s legal team warned they could sue for IP infringement. However, Stehanphie has rallied and written a new musical, definitely not about Raygun. It’s about someone called Spraygun. According to the show’s description: “Breaking: The Musical is a parody and unauthorised (but completely legal) telling of an Australian Olympian’s journey to the 2024 Paris Olympics .” It’s set to debut on 1 October 2025.

For Lakeisha ‘Lucky’ Patterson, learning to swim was a rite of passage and a form of therapy. Lakeisha has cerebral palsy that affects the left side of her body, and from the age of five, hydrotherapy helped her manage pain and relax her muscles. Swimming also became a passion.

Watching the London 2012 Paralympics on TV, aged 13, she realised she could compete at an elite level. Within two years, Lakeisha represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games, where she won bronze.

“It was pure elation. It showed me this Paralympic dream may actually be possible,” Lakeisha says. Fast forward to Rio 2016, and Lakeisha pushed herself until she had nothing left.

“I turned around, saw the number one next to my name. It’s a phenomenal experience. It’s so exhilarating.” Lakeisha is hoping to win gold again in Paris.

Paris Paralympics results:

Lakeisha had a fantastic Paralympics in Paris. She won a silver medal in the Women’s 400m Freestyle S9, placed seventh in the 200m individual medley SM9, and ninth in the Women’s 100m Freestyle S9.

What is Lakeisha up to now?

Lakesiha is currently promoting the Paralympics IMAGINE program and sharing her story with schoolchildren around the country. And she isn’t finished with the pool. She is training for the next Paralympics!

Twenty-eight years after her Olympic debut at Atlanta, equestrian dressage competitor Mary Hanna, 69, is hoping Paris will be her seventh Olympics.

Considered the most artistic equestrian sport, dressage is about “feeling and timing”, Mary told The Weekly when we visited her property in 2022.

At the time of writing, Mary and her horse, Ivanhoe, are on track to qualify 
for Paris, but have not yet been confirmed.

“Dressage is a beautiful sport open to people of any age,” she says. “It’s about your rapport and relationship with the horse, which I think is one of the most beautiful things about dressage … Nothing will replace the passion I feel for the horses.”

Unfortunately, Mary and Ivanhoe did not qualify for Paris. However, the six-time Olympian is still a force to be reckoned with. At the age of 61, she already made history by being the oldest Australian athlete to compete at the Olympics in Tokyo.

What is Mary up to now?

Mary is still training horses, and Ivanhoe won Grand Prix Athlete of the year in August 2025!

For the first time, both Fox sisters, Jessica and Noemie (pictured), look set to compete at the Olympics. Jess – with four Olympic medals already – is the most successful paddler in history, and tough competition for Australia’s one place on the women’s canoeing ‘team’. Which is why Noemie went all out in the international kayak cross competition, hoping to win one of three extra “quota” or wildcard spots.

And after scoring silver at the Prague championships, her ticket to Paris is almost guaranteed. Proud parents and fellow Olympic paddlers Richard (a 10-time world champion) and Myriam (who won an Olympic bronze) will travel to Paris to cheer their daughters on.

The sisters “grew up playing along the riverbank,” Noemie tells The Weekly, “and eventually I found my own love for the sport.” Now, she adds, “it’s become a passion and a lifestyle. The love for the river, especially natural rivers, is at the heart of it. 
And it’s pretty amazing to be able to share that with the people who you’re closest to.”

Paris Olympics results:

Jessica Fox delivered a remarkable performance, winning gold in both the women’s kayak single (K1) and canoe single (C1) events. In the K1 final, she completed a near-perfect run with a time of 96 seconds, edging out Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska by 1.5 seconds. Later, she clinched her second gold of the Games in the C1 final with a time of 1:01.06, despite a two-second penalty. This achievement made her the first athlete in Olympic history to win both the canoe and kayak events in a single Games.

Noémie Fox, making her Olympic debut at 27, secured gold in the inaugural women’s kayak cross event. She dominated the final, winning all her races leading up to the event and edging out France’s Angèle Hug and Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods in the final. Her victory added to Australia’s medal tally and marked a significant milestone in her career.

What are they up to now?

Following the Olympics, Jessica faced a health setback. She underwent surgery to remove a tumour from her left kidney and, as a result, missed the 2025 canoe slalom World Championships in Penrith. Despite the challenges, she is recovering well and remains optimistic about returning to competition.

Since the Olympics, Noémie has continued to compete at the international level. In 2025, she participated in the World Cup circuit, achieving podium finishes in both kayak and canoe events. We also interviewed Noémie and her family for the Christmas 2024 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly. Read that interview here.