Have you all bee following the Paris Olympics? If you have, you would have noticed a few things happening – both good and bad. There has been great feats of talent, ability, skill and seemingly impossible strength, power and success, but the Olympics have been marred by major situations of poor sportsxxship, jealousy and discrimination based on prejudice, geo politics and just plain racism ( more on this in a later post).
However, in saying all this, there has been some good news happening – especially the medal haul by Asian Australian athletes. This time round there have been a number of Asian Australian athletes in the sports of swimming, skateboarding, BMX racing, badminton and table tennis. Medals have been won in the sports of swimming, skateboarding and BMX racing ( if we have missed anything, let us know), and if you are interested, here they are.
SAYA SAKAKIBARA
Gold Medal in BMX Racing
Saya Sakakibara won gold for BMX racing at the Paris Olympics. This was a very important medal for her and she dedicated her win and success to her older brother Kai who was also a BMX racer and suffered a serious brain injury from a crash back in 2020 at a World Cup event in Bathurst NSW.
Born on the Gold Coast, Saya and her family moved to Sydney in 2007 where she joined the South Illawarra BMX Club, where Kai was also a member. She then began competing on the junior circuits and quickly rose through the ranks winning state and national titles. She is not only a world champion, but also an Olympic champion now.
ARISA TREW
Gold Medal in Skateboard Park Event
Arisa Trew is only 14 years old, but she has already made Australian history. Not only has she won a gold medal in the skateboard park event at this year’s Olympics, but she is also now the youngest gold medalist in Australia – what an awesome feat. Born in Cairns and growing up at the Gold Coast, Trew is ranked #2 in the world for skateboarding and in 2023 and 2024 won gold at the X Games.
Olympic champion, world champion and making Australian history for this teenager!
JOSHUA YONG
Bronze Medal in Swimming (Mixed 4 X 100m Medley Relay)
As part of a team effort, Joshua Yong won a Bronze Medal as part of the Mixed 4 X 100m Medley Relay team. Born in Brunei and spending many years of his childhood there, Joshua later lived in Melbourne, Perth, the Sunshine Coast and then back to Perth again in the pursuance of his swimming career!
What an awesome win!
A great win by our Asian Aussies at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which have no come to a close!