Meet 20 of Ballarat's Olympic Games contenders and our rising stars

Having already smashed Australian legend Kurt Fearnley's 1500m record, Sam Rizzo will head to the World Para Athletics Championships in Japan in May chasing his first Paralympic Games position.

Rizzo, 23, clocked 2.50.84 to break Fearnley's 15-year-old record by almost four seconds when he raced in Doha in February.

Rizzo has been selected as a 1500m and 5000m competitor in Kobe and will be keen to continue his form to guarantee himself a position on he Australian team for Paris.

Another of Ballarat's star para-athletes, Forster is the reigning world champion in the C5 Women's Scratch Race from the Glasgow World Championship in August, and is also an Australian national champion.

Her world championship win in Glasgow showed her incredible spirit, breaking away early in the race, only to be caught, before charging with five laps remaining and staying out in front of the chasing pack.

The evergreen Kathryn Mitchell is still throwing huge numbers in the javelin and could once again be in mix for a place on the Australia Olympic team.

While not a week-to-week competitor these days, the 41-year-old has thrown a season's best of 62.12m, at the prestigious Maurie Plant meeting in Melbourne in February, which has her ranked currently at number three in the world.

Women's javelin in Australia is incredible competitive with Kelsey-Lee Barber a world champion and Mackenzie Little a world championship bronze medalist among those vying for a spot on the team. The national championships in Adelaide in April loom as a crucial battle with all three set to fight for spots on the team

Literally the bolter of the Australian team, the 20-year-old has improved out of sight this season and just last week ran a personal best time of 45.71 over 400m.

The youngster, who has already competed for Australia at the World Youth Championships could be in line for a position in the Australian 400m relay team should the qualify from the world championships in the Bahamas in May.

Sherman has already beaten most of Australia's best over 400m, but his big test will come at the national titles in Adelaide in April.

A rising star in more ways than one, Reath is now ranked at 29 in the world in high jump after his personal best jump of 2.28m earlier this season.

That jump leaves him just 5cm away from earning an automatic qualification for Paris, but it is expected that the top 32 ranked jumpers will be invited to compete.

Reath has two huge events coming up with world ranking points available in the next, a jump off in Melbourne on April 6 before the national titles in Adelaide the week later.

A member of the Tokyo Olympic team, Werry is once again very much in the mix for a position on the Paris Olympic squad.

She is a two-time world championship medalist and was among the victorious eights team at the recent national championships held in Sydney.

Werry has also been a member of Victoria's Queen's Cup winning outfit alongside fellow Ballarat rower Laura Foley and Olympic gold medalist Lucy Stephen, who studied at Ballarat Grammar.

The Olympic gold medalist from Tokyo, Stephan, who schooled at Ballarat Grammar, looks set to earn Olympic selection after another outstanding season.

Stephan could be selected as part of the Australian eights boat or could be a chance to defend to defend her title in the coxless fours.

Her combination with Katrina Werry could see both selected to race in the same boats in Paris

Almost out of nowhere, Virginia Tech College star Georgia Amoore has put herself in the frame for an Olympic Games having been named in the Australian Opals squad of 26 which will eventually be cut to 12 for the Olympics.

Amoore had another brilliant season with the Hokies in 2023-24, leading her team to a 25-8 records on the season, averaging more than 18 points a game and leading her team's assists with over 200 for the season.

It is likely the 167cm guard will be taken in the first round of the WNBA Daft when it is held on April 15.

While a King Island native, McSweyn spent his schooling at Ballarat Clarendon College, so we're quite happy to claim Australia's middle distance star as one of our own.

After a couple of difficult years battling injury and illness, McSweyn has returned to his best form just in time for the Olympics as he aims to go better than his seventh placing in Tokyo over 1500m

His best run this year over 1500m is 3 minutes 36.37 seconds and was a win over the world champion. He will have plenty of opportunities to improve that time. In context, he ran 3.31 to finish seventh in Tokyo, with his career best being a 3.29.51 back in 2021.

The young Matildas player was a star during the recent World Cup and will be keen to cement her position as a leader of the Australian team which will be among the favourites to claim their first ever medal.

It won't be an easy task however having drawn the 'Group of Death' which matches to play against USA, Germany and one of either Zambia or Morocco.

Cooney-Cross is another athlete to have spent some of her schooling in Ballarat, so we're very happy to claim her.

Another pair we like to claim, like Georgia Amoore, both Jade Melbourne and Zitina Aukuso have been named in the Australian Opals squad of 26 which will hold training camps and a series of matches against Olympic-standard opposition in the lead-up to Paris.

The pair are both former Ballarat Miners players, with Melbourne having moved to the USA to play with Seattle in the WNBA in recent years.

Melbourne almost looks a lock to be in the final 12, while centre Aukuso looks a chance of being named as a back-up to Lauren Jackson due to the injury of Sara Blicavs.

Technically, Hamilton is from Ararat, but he did go to Ballarat Clarendon College for school, so we claim him as one of our own.

Hamilton was a member of the Australian team that competed at the Tokyo Olympics. The grand tour rider is one of the brightest road racing stars in Australia.and at 28, is reaching his peak.

Given the incredible depth of Australian cycling, earning one of the few positions in the road race team will be tough, but he has done it before as a domestique.

Already an international medalist, Eureka gymnast Nicholas Howard is among a host of young gymnasts making their mark on the world.

He and fellow Australian gymnast Luke Wadsworth were named the 2022 High Performance Program Gymnast of the Year by Gymnastics Victoria, with Howard seen as a future star.

Race walker Alanna Peart is the second of three World Youth Championships competitors Ballarat has, having joined the national team in Colombia last year.

Peart is continuing on the long tradition of race walking in Ballarat with her cousin being Olympic gold medalist Jared Tallent.

Incidentally, Tallent is set to have a huge say in how the Australian Race Walking team comes together with seven of the athletes he coaches Kyle Swan, Tim Fraser, Mitchell Baker, Olivia Sandery, Elizabeth McMillan, Alexandra Griffin and Nellie Langford named in the Australian team for the World Race Walking Championships in April.

Also, keep an eye on Fraser Saunder, another young race walker with plenty of potential to be a star of the future.

From the Paul Cleary stable of jumpers, O'Keefe (alongside Peart and Sherman) was also a member of the Australian team at the World Youth Championships in Colombia.

O'Keefe is a multiple school, state and national age champion and is one of the best high jump prospects in the country.

O'Keefe should be peaking in the next four to eight years and looms as a big chance of making Olympic teams for Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032.

Here's one to follow for a lot of years, at just 16, Anderson has already broken the 12 second barrier for 100m and looms as one of the brightest future stars in the country.

Anderson is being mentored by coaches Paul Cleary and Gerrard Keating, Ballarat's Keating, a two-time Commonwealth Games 100m finalist, is the man credited with discovering current Australian 100m record holder Torrie Lewis. Anderson looms as a star of the future.

Keep a close eye on Nyajima Jock as well, particularly over 200m as well as Summer Jenkins in pole vault and Mackayla Culvenor in triple jump as well among a host of young athletes with huge potential.

The former Ballarat Clarendon College duo are making waves on the water

The duo took out a bronze medal at the World Under-19 Rowing Championships after a desperate finish in the Pairs final.

They have built a terrific partnership from their years rowing together as part of the all conquering Ballarat Clarendon College coxed four boat which won Head of the Lake, Victorian and National championships.

There are a host of young rowers to look out for as well, such as Laura and Tom Foley and Austin Reinehr to name just a few.