By Josh Squire

The additional track and field athletes take the athletics team to 75 and the total team number to 460 to finalise the Australian Team for the Paris Olympic Games.

Thirty Commonwealth Games alumni, including six gold medallists, will look to add to their international success alongside a swathe of Aussie talent that will take on the world in August.

The team of 75 becomes the largest athletics contingency Australia has ever sent to an overseas Olympics, eclipsing the 63 athletes sent to the Tokyo Olympics and now sitting behind only the iconic Sydney 2000 team in size.

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kathryn Mitchell will return for her fourth Olympic Games, becoming just the seventh Australian woman to do so.

Mitchell, who was in line to compete at a record-breaking fifth Commonwealth Games at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games before being struck down by illness, will be joined by Birmingham 2022 gold medallist Kelsey-Lee Barber and Birmingham 2022 silver medallist Mackenzie Little in the javelin.

Pole vault duo Nina Kennedy (B2022 gold) and Kurtis Marschall (two-time gold) will also be vying to emulate their Commonwealth Games success in France, as will Gold Coast 2018 gold medallist Brandon Starc in the high jump.

The announcement of new athletes saw Australia’s already strong middle-distance running group finalised, led by Birmingham 2022 gold medallist in the men’s 1500m Oliver Hoare.

Australian Olympic team Chef de Mission Anna Meares lauded the talent within the selected team and the positive impact such a large group can have on the other Australian Olympic Team members.

“This highlights the great depth nurtured across the country and I want to pay tribute to the entire team at Athletics Australia for delivering a high-performance program that is achieving outstanding results,” she said.

The Athletics competition will be held from 1-11 August. Track and Field events run 2-10 August in the Stade de France in Paris-Saint-Denis.

Race walking and marathon will be held in the heart of Paris – The race walks at Trocadéro on 1 and 7 August, while the marathons men’s (10 August) and women’s (11 August) at Hôtel de Ville (Start) and Invalides (Finish).

With thanks to the Australian Olympic Committee and Athletics Australia.