Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

With the 2024 Paris Olympics wrapped up, I wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate the athletes who competed who are originally from my electorate. The south-west is really proud of producing six Olympians and one Paralympian: Kyle Lee from Australind in marathon swimming; Aran Zalewski from Margaret River in hockey; Jake Harvie from Dardanup in hockey; Lauren Reynolds from Bunbury in BMX cycling; Nina Kennedy, originally from Busselton, in the pole vault; Jack Robinson from Margaret River in surfing; and Alex Saffy, also known as 'the Bunbury bullet', competing in Paralympic swimming.

Congratulations to Jack Robinson, who brings home the silver medal in surfing, beating three-time world champion Gabriel Medina of Brazil to claim a place in the thrilling final. Nina Kennedy, our golden girl—how good is that! Nina won the gold medal for her pole vault of 4.90 metres and made history as the first Australian woman to win gold in a field event. So congratulations, Nina; what an awesome result. Our South West Academy of Sport alumnus, Kyle Lee, in his first Olympics experience, finished in the top 20 in marathon swimming. He was cheered on by his family, who travelled with him to Paris. Lauren Reynolds made history at the games, becoming only the fifth BMX rider to compete in four Olympics. Well done, Aran and Jake, who, with the Kookaburras, fought hard and made it to the quarterfinals of the men's hockey. With the Paralympics up next, I can't wait to see how Alex Saffy goes. As we know, all of Bunbury is well behind Alex Saffy.

I really want to thank all of those athletes and their families. These athletes have often dedicated their lives to countless hours of training, preparation, hard work and cost, and there has been a lot of commitment by the families that support them. You have done yourselves and Australia proud. Nothing should overshadow or diminish the focus on your commitment, your hard work and your achievements, which have been achieved through countless hours of hard work and sheer dedication, often at all hours of the day and night.

Please don't forget that the excitement is not over yet; the Paralympics are just two weeks away, and we want to celebrate all over again with our Australian athletes. As you would understand, with Alex Saffy from Bunbury in the swimming, the south-western people of Bunbury will certainly be watching this with a great deal of interest and excitement.

See this speech in context