Remembering a fallen champion

My official time as deputy Chef de Mission began on Tuesday with a memorable trip to Assevillers, a small town just over an hour north of Paris.

Here in this small town of just over 300 people, it is the resting place of Australia's only Olympic Gold Medalist to pass away in a war - Cecil Healy. Cecil was born in Sydney in 1881 and was an avid sportsman growing up before setting his sights on swimming. Back then, there were no official ''strokes'' in swimming, and Cecil became well-known for his rendition of the ''crawl''. He worked on and used this technique to become one of Australia's best swimmers, partaking in many handicaps, the main event in the early 1900s in Sydney's swimming scene. I learned about Cecil from reading fellow Olympian John Devitt's book about Cecil, how he grew up, that he went to school in Bowral - where I, too, did my primary schooling- and how he eventually found himself in the fields of the Somme fighting on the front protecting Assevillers, which was by the end of World War 1 wholly deteriorated by the fighting.

These days, however, Assevilliers is a quaint little farming village filled with rich history. Even though people still find shells, bombs, buried guns, and even skeletons around the area, the memory of the war now exists in the beautifully kept cemetery and artefacts around the village and the respect that the town holds for its history and those who died fighting for what they have today. As we arrived at the cemetery, I was struck by the turnout of the locals. It was quite a moment, from young families to veterans who wore beautiful maroon berets to the mayor with his red, white, and blue sash. As I walked to Cecil's resting place, I was breathless at the number of nameless tombstones on the site. More than 100 years on from World War 1, I sometimes find it really hard to believe that such atrocities occurred. Since I learned about my trip to Assevilliers, my partner Kevin, also an Australian Olympian and now a serving member of the Royal Australian Airforce and I have been researching and trying to wrap our heads around both World Wars. It's not an easy task, but many people and communities are devoted to ensuring we do not forget to prevent such things from occurring again. Today, I had the privilege of meeting one such person, Major Dean Kachab from the Australian Army, who is based in France; he gave incredible insight into the battle that Cecil faced and how his efforts alongside the many allies fighting in the area eventually led to the allies taking the Somme just 73 days after Cecil's death and the surrender of the German forces and subsequently the end of World War 1.

While conflict is still part of our modern society, with significant wars occurring, one thing that struck me today was the power sport has in bringing together a commonality amongst humans. Before the World War, Cecil was prominent in establishing the Manly Surf Life Saving Club, showing his desire to serve and protect in other ways. Cecil gave up the chance to win a second gold medal after refusing to start one of his Olympic finals because the favourite, Duke Kahanamoku, was late for the race. Cecil refused to partake in the event until Duke arrived and eventually succumbed to second. This act of great sportsmanship formed a tight friendship between Duke and Cecil. Duke visited Cecil in Australia before World War 1, bringing his surfboard, starting Australia's obsession with surfing. I have witnessed and felt an energy from being part of the Olympics that is unlike anything I have ever known. It is known as the Olympic Spirit. Here, for 19 days in Paris, the world will come together. The best athletes in the world will compete against each other, whilst it might be ruthless out there on the fields, pools, and arenas away from the field of play amongst the athletes, staff, volunteers and all that stop for a moment to watch a screen as Olympic history is written there is something that happens within that spirit that I think makes us all realise that at the end of the day, we are just human and watching humans do incredible things via the modality of sport is something we can all respect and appreciate.

I am so grateful to be part of and help lead the Australian Olympic team in Paris. I am proud to be an Olympian and to be Australian. Thank you to Strath Gordon for having the vision to honour Cecil. Finally, thank you to all those who have served and who are serving, lest we forget.