Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jess Stenson will headline the marathon team, with five runners selected to take on the iconic Paris Olympic marathon, as announced on Monday.

Joining Stenson are Sinead Diver, Genevieve Gregson, Brett Robinson, and Patrick Tiernan, with the Paris marathon to take in iconic monuments including the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tour.

Gregson will become just the sixth Australian woman in history to compete in Athletics at four Olympics, while Tiernan, Stenson and Robinson all return for their third Games.

Australian record holder Diver returns for her second Games after her 10th place in Tokyo was the best Olympic finish by an Australian woman in more than thirty years.

Gregson and Tiernan will both contest the Olympic marathon for the first time after transitioning from the track. Gregson’s selection also marks an extraordinary comeback from a devastating injury suffered at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Gregson and Stenson will both compete at the Olympics as mothers for the first time, with Stenson running her Paris 2024 qualifying time just six months postpartum.

The men’s race will be the second last day of competition, with the women’s event the final day – bringing to an end the athletics competition for Paris 2024. For the first time in Olympic history – the marathon course is also open for a public event, with community runners competing in a marathon the evening prior the women’s race.

Diver set a new national record of 2.21.34 in January 2023. The forty-seven-year-old said having family cheering her on would make Paris even more special.

“This means so much to me. It’s an honour to represent Australia for a second time at the Olympics,” she said. “My first experience was very special but I’m hoping that this one will top it as I can share it with family and friends.

“Having my kids there means the world to me, they are so excited about getting to Paris and they’re at the age where they’ll remember this forever.

Gregson’s journey from heartbreak on the track in Tokyo to the Paris Olympic marathon is one if incredible resilience and inspiration.

“Four Olympic Games is so special, I don’t take any of it for granted,” she said. “After Tokyo I didn’t know if I’d ever able to return to running at the same level, let alone making another Olympics.

“Although I’m so proud of being a four-time Olympian, I’m more proud I was able to get back to this level after the adversity I was facing three years ago. Rehabbing a ruptured achilles was tough but at the same time I was pregnant so I had this inner motivation to look forward to at the end of such a long time off.

“I definitely didn’t think I would get to this point and be as strong and fit as ever, but to look back now at the journey I’ve had, it’s been a special and exciting challenge for me. I’m so thankful this was the path I got to take post Tokyo.”

The marathon events are held on 10 August (men) and 11 August (women), starting from the Hôtel de Ville and finishing at Invalides.

With thanks to the Australian Olympic Committee and Athletics Australia.