Doreen’s Laura Paeglis and Craigieburn’s Ezi Magbegor are both headed to the Olympics.
Twenty-two-year-old Paeglis will take on the women’s individual event in archery in Paris, making her Olympics debut.
Paeglis was part of the Australian squad that secured the mixed team quota for the country at the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, which also gave Australia an individual men’s and women’s quota.
The Victorian cemented her place on the team the past six months across five qualifying events.
“It feels amazing to be selected for my first Olympics, this has been a dream of mine for a long time and to be selected is just the best feeling in the world,” she said.
“It’s almost hard to believe, after so many years of training and fighting towards this goal, to be in this position is really exciting.”
“I have been working so hard the last few years to make this happen, so I really want to go into the Olympics and perform the absolute best that I can.”
“I want to thank everyone who helped get me here, particularly my family. My dad has helped coach me, my mum has always been my biggest fan and both my siblings have always been so supportive. They’ve all just been so amazing through this whole experience.”
Craigieburn-raised Magbegor will be part of her second Olympic team. She is currently playing in the WNBL with the Seattle Storm.
She will be hoping to play a key role in the Opals side as they look to return to the medals after missing out the last two Olympics.
Opals captain Tess Madgen drew on the legacy of the Opals to inspire the team going to Paris.
“We have the absolute best team of athletes, we are much more than a team, we are a sisterhood and we carry with us all the Opals from the past and we draw on their strength. Every time I put on the green and gold it gives me goosebumps, it’s hard to really put into words what it means. We are all so grateful to be here and make no mistake we are very hungry so bring on Paris.”
Dante Exum, the son of former Broadmeadows basketball director of coaching Cecil Exum, has been named in the Boomers team.
