Fanning on board for Tokyo 2020 Surf champ an Olympic selector
THREE-TIME surfing world champion Mick Fanning will be a part of the Australian team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – even if he’s just shaking “pom-poms” on the beach.
The Gold Coast champion has been announced as a team selector for the first Olympic Games to host the sport of surfing.
Fanning was announced by Surfing Australia on a selection panel which included seven-time world champion Layne Beachley, four-time world champion Mark Richards and coach Kate Wilcomes.
“Having this extremely talented group of Australian athletes and coaches together for an extended period at the HPC has given Team Australia the perfect platform to build on,” said Surfing Australia CEO Andrew Stark.
The announcement followed a three day “Olympic Readiness Camp” in northern NSW this week which included the 24 surfers most likely to compete for gold medals in two years.
Surfers invited to the camp at the Hurley Surfing Australia High Performance Centre at Casuarina included Stephanie Gilmore, Tyler Wright, Owen Wright, Matt Wilkinson, Julian Wilson, Zahli Kelly and Ethan Ewing.
Olympic gold medallists Cathy Freeman and Ken Wallace spoke to the athletes along with members of the Australian Olympic Committee during the camp.
WHETHER IT’S IN A COACHING OR MENTORING ROLE OR JUST A FAN ON THE BEACH WITH POMPOMS I WILL BE THERE. MICK FANNING
In a statement, Surfing Australia said the event “brought together Australia’s top surfing athletes deemed most likely to be in contention for Tokyo 2020 for planning, education, and the establishment of what will be a Team Australia culture as we head to Japan”.
Fanning said he wanted to be a part of the Olympic team regardless of the role.
The 36-year-old was invited to the camp but he was not on Surfing Australia’s list of