Andrew Hoy, who made his Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 1984, will not be able to fulfil his dream of competing in his ninth Olympics after not being selected for Australia. The three-time gold medallist expressed his disappointment. However, despite his veteran status, he hasn’t closed the door on his Olympic career.
He has won three gold medals, a silver and a bronze at Tokyo 2020. He won the last two medals at the age of 61, and now, at 65, he regrets not being able to take part in Paris 2024.
Eight appearances is a great achievement, but no other Australian has competed in nine Olympic Games. Three athletes have done it in eight Games, and only the great Canadian rider Ian Millar is the only man to reach 10. “Over all these years in our beloved sport, I have experienced incredible ups and devastating downs,” Hoy said on Instagram.
“I wouldn’t be the competitive athlete that I am if I wasn’t disappointed at not being selected for the Australian team going to Paris,” he added. From his words, though, one could conclude that despite his veteran status, Hoy doesn’t seem to have given up on his Olympic career. “This chapter of Paris 2024 may be closing, but the book isn’t closed yet. We are excited to see what the future has in store for us,” he said.
Hoy’s story is one of overcoming. His first medal was gold in Barcelona in 1992, in the team competition (with David Green, Gillian Rolton and Matthew Ryan). This was followed by gold in Atlanta in 1996, in the team competition (with Wendy Schaeffer, Gillian Rolton and Phillip Dutton).
In Sydney 2000, he won two more medals – gold in the team competition (with Phillip Dutton, Stuart Tinney and Matthew Ryan) and silver in the individual competition. And two more at Tokyo 2020, team silver (with Kevin McNab and Shane Rose) and individual bronze. Hoy was Australia’s flag bearer at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
He won two bronze medals at the World Eventing Championships in 1986 and 2006. In his absence, Chris Burton, Shane Rose and Kevin McNab have been selected for the eventing team. Edwina Tops-Alexander will become the first Australian showjumper to compete in five Olympic Games.
