Olympic Champion Wallace Announced as Deputy Chef de Mission for Paris 2024

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has announced the appointment of four Olympians to the roles of deputy Chefs de Mission for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Three-time Olympian and Beijing 2008 Canoe Sprint Olympic Champion Kenny Wallace OAM has been reappointed as deputy Chef de Mission of the Australian Olympic Team for Paris, after he joined the leadership team at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Hailing from the Gold Coast, Wallace became the first Australian to win two K1 Olympic medals at the same Games, when he won K1 500 gold and K1 1000 bronze on debut at Beijing 2008. The six-time World Champion competed in the K2 1000 with David Smith at London 2012, before winning bronze with Lachlan Tame in the K2 1000 at Rio 2016.

Wallace, who is Paddle Australia’s National Performance Pathways Lead, is a member of the AOC Athletes’ Commission and the Oceania National Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission. He also led the Australian Team at the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa, and will lead the 2023 Pacific Games Team in the Solomon Islands in November this year.

Wallace said he is excited to bring his experience from previous Games to his leadership position in Paris.

“I am deeply humbled and immensely proud to have been chosen as one of the deputy Chefs de Mission for the Australian Olympic Team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” Wallace said.

“It is an honour to work alongside such exceptional Olympians and leaders in sports and to be guided by the expertise and experience of Anna Meares. 

“I am also excited to bring my experiences as deputy Chef de Mission at the Tokyo Olympic Games and Chef de Mission roles at the Pacific Games to this new role in Paris.

“I believe that the lessons and insights gained from these experiences will be invaluable as we work together towards our common goal of every athlete and team achieving personal bests at the Olympic Games.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute my skills and expertise to the team and to help lead our athletes to their full potential,” he said.

With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games spread across a number of venues, the AOC have announced four Olympians to assist Chef de Mission Anna Meares in France, with Bronwen Knox (water polo), Kyle Vander-Kuyp (athletics) and Mark Knowles (hockey) also appointed alongside Wallace.

“Ken Wallace, an Olympic champion and four-times Olympian was outstanding in this role at Tokyo 2020 and has been Chef de Mission for the Australian team at the Pacific Games in Samoa 2019 and will be again in the Solomon Islands later this year,” said AOC President Ian Chesterman.

“With our sports spread out across Paris, we have these experienced Olympians with great leadership qualities joining our Chef de Mission Anna Meares, a four time Olympian and Olympic champion.

“These are all people with a deep understanding of the needs of athletes – in either the team environment or individual sports.

“The Paris Games do provide a geographical challenge and our athletes can be assured that no matter where they are competing, they will have the resources they need and we can respond to issues as they arise,” Mr Chesterman said.

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