Australia’s record-holder in the 100m men’s hurdles has been called upon to provide guidance and support for the Australian Olympic team heading to the Paris 2024 Games.
Kyle Vander-Kuyp grew up in the eastern suburbs and spent his childhood around the Yarra Ranges, but will be heading to France as one of the four Deputy Chefs de Mission while continuing in the role of Indigenous Liaison Officer he held at Tokyo 2020.
Vander-Kuyp said he was honoured fellow Olympic legend Anna Meares extended an invitation for him to work alongside and support her in her role.
“In Paris, there’s going to be eight different villages or sites that the Australian team will be located in, so there’s a real need to make sure that the whole team is connected and feeling engaged,” he said.
“I think our role is going to probably have a few parts to it, but we will be making sure the team are feeling welcome when they first land in Paris and then while they’re in their competitive mode, making sure they’re feeling like they’ve got everything they need.”
Vander-Kuyp still holds the Australian 110m Hurdles record of 13.29 seconds that he set at the World Championships in Göteborg, Sweden back in 1995.
Vander-Kuyp said the Tokyo Olympics gave him a taste of the elite space and being part of an Olympic team again.
“It had been 20 years since I’d been on the Sydney Olympic team and having gone from athlete to having a life after sport, to evolve and have a family and a working life outside of sport, it’s really refreshing to go back into sport and feel like you’ve got a part to play and feel connected and valued as well,” he said.
“You leave sport thinking, what can I do next? Is there anything left for me to give? That sense of pride in representing your country and wearing green and gold, it’s the highest. The Olympics are what everyone dreams of as a young sportsperson.”
Vander-Kuyp finished 7th at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and was knocked out in the semifinals at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He also competed in the 1994, 1998 and 2006 Commonwealth Games, the 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999 World Championships and won 12 National 110m Hurdle titles.
Vander-Kuyp said being Indigenous, he’s also really proud to bring his cultural knowledge over there after the success of the Indigenous cultural hub in Tokyo.
“We had the Indigenous language map up, and a lot of engagement happened at that map. A lot of athletes came and asked questions and a lot of the Indigenous Olympians came by and pointed out where their language group is or where they’re from,” he said.
“It created a sense of learning and knowledge while athletes were busy competing and there was Aboriginal and Torres Strait artwork up in the village uniform that had Indigenous design on it for the first time.”
Vander-Kuyp started his athletics career at the Ringwood Athletics Hub growing up.
Vander-Kuyp encouraged young Yarra Ranges athletes to make sure to follow their dreams.
“It doesn’t matter how crazy that might seem or feel, you’ve got to put it out there to start with and then you got to get the team of people around you. It always takes a bit of courage to put a dream out there and say that’s what I want to do,” he said.
“Passion, persistence and patience will always be the ones that will get your dream to come true. I encourage any athletes from any part of Australia, but particularly in our eastern suburbs, to get out there, watch the games and who knows, you could be competing at the Brisbane Olympics.”
