Local Olympians and Paralympians have today been recognised in a civic reception held at Central Coast Council.

Eight athletes and two officials from the Central Coast took part in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio earlier this year and today’s event acknowledged their representation of our country and our community.

Council Administrator Ian Reynolds said the reception provided an opportunity to formally recognise the efforts of our local athletes and officially congratulate them on their extraordinary achievements.

“The Rio Games marks 120 years of Australians excelling in Olympic events, wearing the green and gold. The Central Coast was well-represented on this occasion, with our ten participants travelling alongside around 600 Australian team mates to compete against the world’s best in their chosen sport or discipline,” said Mr. Reynolds.

“Our local athletes arrived home with one gold medal and one bronze medal. There were also many records broken and personal bests achieved.

“Our Olympians and Paralympians have done us all proud with their remarkable displays of skill, sportsmanship and camaraderie.”

Mr. Reynolds said our Olympic and Paralympic heroes inspire generations of future sports stars.

“On behalf of Central Coast Council and the broader Central Coast community, I would like to officially thank and congratulate our local athletes and officials who participated in the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” added Mr. Reynolds.

“Each one of you is an outstanding role model for our aspiring sports stars and we look forward to witnessing your achievements, alongside our future sporting champions, at the 2020 Games in Tokyo!”

Our local Olympians and Paralympians are: 

Rae Anderson

Rae first competed for Australia at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow after placing second at the 2014 Australian Athletics Championships.

In 2015, Rae competed in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar, on the same day she sat her final HSC exam at the British Consulate. The following year she was selected to participate in the Para-athletics Junior High Performance Program to help prepare for her qualification for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.

Rae participated in the women’s discus throw and javelin throw events at the Rio Paralympic Games.

Matthew Dawson

Beginning his hockey journey at the age of eight, young-gun Matt Dawson made his Olympic debut in Rio after being selected as part of the Australian men’s hockey team.

Son of former Australian cricketer Trish Dawson, Matt was one of the youngsters of the team at the prestigious World League final in 2015, netting his drag flick in the final against Belgium to secure Australia gold. Following his role as a member of the Australian Under21 team, the Burras, at the 2013 Junior World Cup in Delhi, Matt set his sights on being selected in the senior Australian team, something he earned as a result of strong performances at the 2014 Australian Hockey League and Under21 Australian Championships.

The Australian men’s hockey team made it to the quarterfinal round in Rio, before being defeated by The Netherlands.

Riley Fitzsimmons

Riley Fitzsimmons debuted on the Australian senior sprint canoe team in 2015. The Rio Games represented his Olympic debut at age 20.

Riley won two gold and a silver medal at the 2015 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships and took home gold in the K2 1000 metre race at the canoe sprint World Championships with his teammate, Jordan Wood, in Portugal in the same year.

Starting Surf Life Saving at age four at his local club, Avoca Beach, Riley began kayaking at 15 and has balanced his lifesaving and kayaking passions ever since. Riley placed fourth in the Men's Kayak Four 1000 metre final in Rio.

Matthew Formston

Since making his cycling debut for Australia over five years ago, Matt has won more than ten national titles and is a world champion, world record holder and world cup gold medallist across three disciplines.

He discovered his real love for the sport while riding from Sydney to Melbourne for the Macular Degeneration Foundation in 2009. Not long after he was introduced to competitive para-cycling and hasn’t looked back.

At the recent Rio Paralympic Games, Matt participated in the Cycling Road Men’s Road Race B, Cycling Road Men’s Time Trial B, Cycling Track Men’s B4000 metre individual pursuit and the Cycling Track Men’s B 1000 metre time trial.

Dylan Littlehales

Dylan started competing only two years ago after his first training session in a kayak at age 14.  He finished the 2014/15 Flat Water Sprint Series with a silver medal in the open men’s 200 metre, and bronze in the 500 metre and 1000 metre sprints. Last year he was selected to make his Australian team debut at the World Championships in Italy, where he was the youngest competitor by three years and the youngest in his classification by five years.

At the Rio Paralympic Games he participated in the Canoe Sprint Men’s KL3.

Lachlan Tame

Lachlan Tame joined the Avoca Beach Surf Club as a five year old. He started paddling at age 16 and in 2012 made a bet with a friend that he could make the Olympics. He first rose to prominence when he won the Australian Open Single Ski Championships in 2011 and has gone on to win the title another three times.
With a host of world championship titles and world series medals to his name, along with team mate Ken Wallace, Lachlan won a bronze medal in the Men's Kayak Double 1000 metre final in Rio.

Liesl Tesch

Liesl began a career in sailing in 2011, after leading wheelchair basketball team, the Gliders, to win silver at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, and bronze at Beijing 2008.

She joined forces with medallist Daniel Fitzgibbon, winning their first ever competition at the 2011 World Cup meets, followed by bronze in the 2011 World Championships. At the end of their first year together, the pair were named 2011 Australian Sailors of the Year with a Disability.  In 2012, they claimed a bronze medal at the World championships, followed by gold at the I World Cup. The same year, the duo won gold in London.

Adding to her tally, Liesl won gold in the Sailing 2-person Keelboat (SKUD18) alongside partner Daniel Fitzgibbon at the Rio Paralympics.

Nick Yallouris

Nick was an integral member of the 2016 Australian Paralympic Cycling Team as the sighted pilot for Matthew Formston at the recent Rio Games.

A bicycle mechanic by trade and with a BMX background, Nick was introduced to cycling in 2010.

In 2015, Nick was invited to join the Australian Para-cycling team after claiming silver in the NSW men’s team pursuit at the National Championships. The same year he made his debut for Australia at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in the Netherlands where he paired up with Commonwealth Games medallist Paul Kennedy.