Jess Fox OAM (WK1, WC1), Tim Anderson (MK1), Tristan Carter (MC1), Anna Meares OAM (Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission). Photos by Noel Rowsell.

THE AOC has selected Victorians Tim Anderson and Tristan Carter in the Australian Olympic Team for Paris 2024, to contest the men’s kayak (MK1) and canoe (MC1) events respectively.

The announcement was made by the Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission Anna Meares OAM on Tuesday morning at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium, where the two athletes train and compete.

29-year-old Anderson and 25-year-old Carter will both make their Olympic debuts in Paris, following multiple Top-10 finishes in international competition over the past 12 months.

The duo joins Jess Fox OAM, who was selected last year to compete in the women’s WC1 and WK1 in Paris.

“Getting named to your first Australian Olympic Team is a special moment and I’m thrilled to announce Tim and Tristan as the newest members of Australia’s Team for Paris,” Ms Meares said.

“So much goes into those 100 seconds flying down the whitewater course – the gym, training, analysis, spending months of the year travelling and competing to hone their craft. All of the dedication and choices Tim and Tristan have made have led them here, to represent Australia at the Paris Olympics.

“Congratulations to Tim and Tristan, the Paddle Australia team, your coaches, friends, families, supporters, the New South Wales and Victorian Institutes of Sport and everyone else who has helped you achieve this milestone.”

Anderson, who moved to Penrith from Victoria aged 18 to pursue his slalom passion, had a breakthrough 2023, including finishing fifth at the World Championships and finishing third overall in the Kayak Cross season rankings.

“It’s incredible to be selected for Paris 2024, I’ve worked so hard for this for more than a decade, it’s really exciting to see that all paying off,” Anderson said.

“I remember one of the first times I got in a kayak, nearly 20 years ago, I was paddling backwards at the top of this tiny rapid on the Yarra because I was too scared to go down, a few tears were shed. To think I’m now going to an Olympics is pretty incredible.

“Thank you to everyone who has played a part in my journey – there’s so many out there. My family, friends, and girlfriend are the biggest part of that, I hope they can feel as proud as I am to represent Australia at the Olympics.”

Carter paid tribute to the people who have helped him achieve his Olympic dream.

“It’s so special. My family, my sister, mum and dad have been my biggest sponsors through my junior years and now they’re my biggest cheer squad, with my girlfriend,” Carter said.

“I wouldn’t be in the position I am now without the training group here at Penrith. Even though we’re competing against each other, we wouldn’t be where we are without them, pushing in training, lifting the standards.

“I’m very proud of where I came from in Victoria, my old coach Warwick Draper who is a three-time Olympian himself, all the people I trained with in Melbourne – a huge system of people that have come together and made me feel like I’m ready to tackle the biggest stage.”

The canoeist said overcoming the weight of pressure at the events used as selection trials earlier this year gives him great confidence ahead of Paris.

“I had a few new emotions pre-race at the trials, knowing the magnitude of the situation, I was very aware of it. The run I laid down was 101 seconds, but it was eight years’ work.

It felt amazing to cross the finish line and know that I’ve done it.

“I pride myself on being very focused within myself. Having to deliver in the final runs of races, to do it again with an Olympics on the line, shows what I’ve got within me.”

Australia has further chances to earn quotas in the new Olympic event of Kayak Cross – at the Kayak Cross Global Qualifying Tournament in Prague in June.