Forty-four Australian dolphins competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, including WA's Joshua Yong, Iona Anderson and Kyle Lee. The Western Australian swimming community couldn’t be more thrilled with their outstanding performances.
At his first Olympic Games, Josh Yong won a bronze medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay with a time of 3:38.76. Yong, Kaylee McKeown, Matthew Temple, and Mollie O’Callaghan, improved Australia's heat time by over two seconds. This was not only Yong’s first Olympic relay but also broke the 59-second barrier in his breaststroke leg.
In individual events, Yong became the first WA Olympian since Eamon Sullivan in 2008 to compete in two individual swimming events at the Olympics. He reached the semifinals in the men’s 100m breaststroke, clocking a new personal best of 59.64 (12th). In the men’s 200m breaststroke, Yong fought his way into the Olympic final, hitting a time of 2:11.44 (8th). Once arriving in Perth, Yong said, “The experience is something out of a dream. I’m very happy.”
18-year-old Iona Anderson finished her Olympic campaign with two medals. She earned a silver medal in the women’s 4x100m medley relay and a bronze in the mixed 4x100 medley relay after competing in the heats of both events.
Anderson locked in an Olympic finals spot in the women's 100m backstroke, finishing in 5th place (58.98) behind Canada's Kylie Masse. For her first Olympics, Anderson’s performance was nothing short of spectacular. She commented, “I was aiming for 2028 (Olympics), so to be on the team is just incredible and to come home with some bling is quite nice too.”
Both Yong and Anderson returned to Perth a week and a half ago, greeted warmly by family and friends. They’re now setting their sights on the Australian Short Course Championships, which will take place from September 26-29.
Kyle Lee took on one of the most challenging events in the Olympics - the men’s 10km marathon swim in the River Seine. On Friday, August 9, Lee and fellow Aussie Nick Sloman battled it out in the last event of the Games for the Australian Dolphins.
One of the biggest highlights from the gruelling swim was Lee's exciting finish, where he narrowly outpaced Britain’s Tobias Robinson. Despite six competitors being unable to finish, Lee managed to secure the 13th place with a time of 1:56:42.5, just 18 seconds behind Sloman (11th).
Up next: Bunbury's Alex Saffy is set to represent Australia at the upcoming Paralympic Games. His first event will be the men's 100m freestyle S10 on Sunday, 1 September. Bring on the Bunbury Bullet!
