Australia has named two Olympians and seven debutants on their Artistic Swimming team for Paris 2024 as the ‘green and gold’ look to continue a season of success in the French capital.

With an all-time highest score and placing at a World Aquatics Championships already achieved in 2024, the team has also enjoyed recent success at the Beijing leg of the Artistic Swimming World Cup winning silver in the Team Technical, silver in the Team Free, and bronze in the Team Acrobatic.

The first leg of the World Cup being held at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games venue was not lost on the Australian team as they fine-tuned their preparations for the Paris Games.

Image Source: Carolyn Buckle and Kiera Gazzard perform their routine during the Women's Duet Technical at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2024 event in Paris (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

"We all love the ‘Water Cube’ and the pool… a great experience for us in preparation for the Paris Olympics,” Kiera Gazzard told World Aquatics after the team’s bronze medal in Beijing.

Gazzard will be joined by fellow returning-Olympian Carolyn Buckle, along with six new faces, who will all travel to a debut Olympics under the guidance of London 2012 medallist Paula Klamburg.

“It’s so special… to be able to share this Games with my family and use my experiences from Tokyo and give them to the younger girls who are doing it for the first time, is an honour,” said Gazzard.

“We’re training together all the time, our teammates are like family. We’re really embracing every step on our journey to Paris.”

Image Source: General view of the Olympic Aquatic Centre in Paris, France. Paris will host the Summer Olympics from 26 July 26 until 11 August 2024 (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

The Australian team has already competed at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis as part of the World Cup with Gazzard excited to return to the venue in early August.

Image Source: Adam Pretty /Allsport

 

“The venue in Paris is beautiful. There's skylights where the natural light comes in and there's a bit of reflection on the ceiling. We ended up getting a ‘PB’ in the free team and finishing fourth for that event with no base mark. That was our last event in Paris before we return for the Olympics, so it’s looking good.”

Image Source: Zoe Poulis competes in the Artistic Swimming Women's Solo Free at the Budapest 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

For debutant Zoe Poulis, the Paris 2024 team announcement was the culmination of three years of hard work.

“It’s something that I've been looking forward to in the distance for so long and now that it's actually within a reach, I, I can't even believe it, I'm just so excited,” said Poulis.

“I love how creative and performance based artistic swimming is. It's super hard, but it's also an art form. I love that it challenges me every day, not only physically, but mentally.”

“Having a whole team of girls around me that are doing the exact same thing it just pushes me more and more every day. It’s the greatest feeling ever when we nail a routine… it feels like our hard work has paid off.”

Poulis is no stranger to the limelight having emerged as a social media sensation over the past two years as one of the ‘most followed’ artistic swimmers in the world. The 18 year-old, who shares the creative side of the sport on her Instagram profile, boasts over 166,000 followers – more than fellow Australian world record holders Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown.

“Artistic swimming is such a mixture of grace and athleticism. I love showing that off – the videos are different from our competition of course, but it’s cool that it can spark people’s curiosity and get more people interested in learning about our sport,” said Poulis.

Image Source: Team Australia compete in the Mixed Team Free Final at the World Aquatics Championships - Doha 2024 (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Speaking at the team announcement in the Queensland city of Townsville, General Manager of Performance and Pathways at Artistic Swimming Australia, Lucas O’Ceallachain, said he was “excited to see what the team can achieve in Paris”.

“We’re incredibly proud of this group of athletes and all the hard work that they’ve done to reach this point. Our centralised program has been a real game changer for the team, but none of the success would be possible without their hard work dedication and passion,” said O’Ceallachain.

Image Source: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Joining Gazzard, Buckle, and Poulis on the Australian team for the Paris Games are Anastasia Kusmawan, Georgia Courage-Gardiner, Milena Waldmann, Margo Joseph-Kuo, and Raphaelle Gauthier, with Natalia Caloiero named as the travelling reserve.