Nick Kyrgios “knows he is welcome” at the Tokyo Olympics as the tennis star weighs up whether to be part of Australia’s 472-strong Games team, which features a record number of women and Indigenous athletes.
Australia’s contingent for the Games starting on 23 July includes 254 women and 218 men, with 16 Indigenous athletes. The number of female athletes is 40 more than the nation’s previous most at a Games, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the 16 Indigenous athletes is four more than in Sydney in 2000.
Australia’s team is the second-largest to contest an away Olympics, 10 shy of the 482 athletes who went to the 2004 Athens Games. But it remains doubtful whether Kyrgios, who last week was formally selected alongside Ash Barty and nine other tennis players by the Australian Olympic Committee, will make his Olympics debut.
“We’d still love to see Nick over at these Games. He knows he’s welcome at these Games and I would still think it’d be a fantastic outcome for tennis and our team if he was there,” Australia’s chef de mission Ian Chesterman said on Monday.
“But I understand and respect his decision, whichever way he goes. “People have to believe they can perform under these different circumstances, so Nick will make his own decisions and we’ll respect that. We have to acknowledge it’s been a very difficult lead up for all athletes.”
Chesterman’s words are in sharp contrast to predecessor Kitty Chiller, who repeatedly clashed with Kyrgios during the lead up to Rio 2016. Kyrgios is yet to make a decision but gave a strong hint at Wimbledon that he may not travel to Tokyo.
“If I’m to play the Olympics I want to do it the right way,” Kyrgios said. “With full crowds, with my guests there. When I’m able to watch other athletes do their thing. That’s the Olympics for me. The Olympics, the way it’s going to go on, is not the Olympics.”
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Australians will compete in 33 sports in Tokyo including all four new Olympic sports of karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing.
At the Rio Games, Australia won eight gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals but the AOC has stopped publicly setting a medal target for the Games.
“The feedback from the Athletes’ Commission was that it just wasn’t helpful, athletes put enough pressure on themselves without us putting more pressure on,” Chesterman said.
“Given the events of the past 18 months, this has been the correct path, getting to the start line has been so difficult. They don’t need pressure from us.”
Equestrian veteran Andrew Hoy will contest his eighth Olympics, a record for an Australian. And fellow equestrian stalwart Mary Hanna and table tennis’ Jian Fang Lay will compete at their sixth Games, a record for an Australian female.
Cyclist Cameron Meyer withdrew from the team for personal reasons at the weekend, when two changes were made to Australia’s men’s football team with Marco Tilio and Jay Rich-Baghuelou replacing Ramy Najjarine and Ruon Tongyik.