CANBERRA: The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has launched its biggest-ever search for sporting talent for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane. The AIS, Australia’s government-funded center for high performance sports training, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with all states and territories, Paralympics Australia and more than 40 major sports for the Future Green and Gold campaign. As part of the campaign, the AIS will lead Australia’s largest talent search to identify the country’s next generation of sporting champions and accelerate their development ahead of Brisbane 2032. “We have an ambitious goal of having the best ever Olympic and Paralympic team in Brisbane and to achieve this we need to significantly strengthen our current talent pool, particularly our Para-athletes,” Matti Clements, Managing Director of AIS Performance. , he said in a statement. “Given Australia’s success in Paris, now is the best time to tap into that passion and encourage eligible Australians to put their names forward.” The search will focus on Australians aged 13–23 for Olympic sports and over 13 for Paralympic sports. Eligible participants will be invited to the nearest clinic where their strengths and skills will be measured. Those who demonstrate potential will undergo a trial with a recommended sport before potentially being offered a position in the Talent Development Programme. Current athletes will also be offered the option of switching to another sport. Brisbane, the capital of the northeastern state of Queensland, has won the rights to host the 2032 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2021. It will be the third time the Olympics have been held in Australia, after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000. In May, the federal government committed A$249.7 million (US$166.1 million) to upgrade AIS facilities in Canberra ahead of the 2032 Games. In August, the AIS announced it would double the number of Australian Paralympic coaches by 2032. Australian athletes won a record 18 gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, placing the nation fourth in the medal standings. However, at the following Paralympics, Australia finished ninth in the medal table – also with 18 gold medals – marking the country’s lowest finish since the 1988 Seoul Games.
