Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to congratulate our Australian Paralympic team for their success in this chamber. Now we have the opportunity to congratulate our Australian Olympic team. One of our greatest Australian athletes, Herb Elliott, once said:

It is the inspiration of the Olympic Games that drives people not only to compete but to improve, and to bring lasting spiritual and moral benefits to the athlete and inspiration to those lucky enough to witness the athletic dedication.

We have certainly witnessed our athletes' dedication during the London Olympic Games and, regardless of whether or not they won, it is their passion and courage that inspires us all to work hard to achieve our dreams.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate two of my constituents: Samantha Reid from Tanah Merah and Lyndsie Fogarty from Shailer Park for their outstanding contribution to the London Olympic Games. Samantha Reid was part of the Australian Olympic team that secured sixth place at the Spanish open synchronised swimming competition in Madrid in July. They had hoped for a similar result, a top-six position at the London Olympics; however, they were not as successful as they hoped and unfortunately finished last in the technical routine and in the free routine. But it is not so much where they finished as the fact that they got out there, competed and did their best on the day. It was a great achievement to have been selected to represent our nation in synchronised swimming, and I am very proud of her efforts.

Lyndsie Fogarty, a local kayaker, won bronze in the K4 500-metre sprint event at the Beijing Olympics; however, she just missed out at this year's London Games. It was a fantastic achievement to have made the semifinals in the K4 500-metre sprint and to have placed fourth in the B final of the K2 500-metre events.

Kimberley Park State School—one of the schools in my electorate—would be very proud of their former student Mitchell Watt, who is considered one of Logan's greatest success stories at the games. Mitchell Watt jumped 8.16 metres in the long jump to secure silver at the games, which was a welcome addition to the overall performance of our track and field athletes.

A few weeks ago I attended a welcome home ceremony for the Gold Coast Olympians. My electorate covers parts of both the Logan City Council and the Gold Coast City Council, and I felt very honoured to have been invited to attend the ceremony. From just going around the room and meeting those Olympians, I know we are certainly blessed as a community but more so as a nation, by the wonderful and talented athletes in Logan and the Gold Coast. As a nation we tend to pose huge expectations on our Olympians and, despite not winning the official medal tally for the London Olympic Games, there is always a way to celebrate the success of our Olympic team.

In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, statistician Brian Dawes formulated the only true and just statistical representation of Olympic medal performance. Dawes calls it the MAP methodology:

Based on a crafty combination of medals won, athletes in your team and your country's population, I am pleased to advise that the real winner of the London Olympics is Australia!

Using the formula of medals won multiplied by athletes in your team divided by home count population, here are the top four: Australia 632, Great Britain 565, Hungary 268 and Russia 250. Team USA only scored 175 and China only 23. However, as the founder of the International Olympic Committee Pierre de Coubertin once said:

The important thing in life is not victory but combat; it is not to have vanquished but to have fought well.

There are a number of ways to look at our success in the London Olympic Games, but I believe that the real winners are those who dedicate so much of their time to their sport, to being good role models for our younger generations and to being great ambassadors for our country. The satisfaction of inspiring others to live their dreams and represent this country at an international level is, in itself, worth its weight in gold, medal or no medal.

Later in the year I will be holding a ceremony for our local sporting champions. I will be congratulating young sporting champions such as Rachael Harcombe, Gemma Brinkman, Jack Goodsell, Blake Cearns, Skye Nicolson, Nevyn Livingstone, Angela Beard, Lizaya Iti, Samuel Jones, Joshua Tierney, Jake Greusmuhl, Tamara Tisdall, Jake Otago, Nicolas Preston-Smith, Frederyk Woodhouse and the Sarah Atkins Netball team. Each time I meet one of these aspiring young sportsmen or sportswomen, I believe in their ability to be the best they can be. These are young men and women who are already competing at a state or national level in their chosen sport and may very well be our future Olympians. I say well done to the Australian Olympic team and I wish all the best for those who aspire to take part in the next Olympic Games in Rio in Brazil in four years' time.

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