This time Jemima has the confidence to aim for glory

Selection on any Australian team always means a lot, but selection on this Olympic team means that little bit more to Jemima Montag.  

The dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist is preparing for her second shot at Olympic glory when she hits the streets of Paris in the 20km racewalk. The 26-year-old will also embark on a new challenge - the 20km racewalk relay, a brand new event in which she will compete with her training partner Rhydian Cowley.

Montag enters these Games with an added sense of excitement and perspective.

Covid protocols in Tokyo prevented Montag from both marching in the opening ceremony and living it up in the athlete’s village - both rites of passages for any Olympian.

This time, Montag will have a 30-strong supporter group, all decked out in their "Team Jem" t-shirts, cheering her on from the sidelines.

"I can't wait to have them all there," Montag told The Jewish Independent. “It'll just be a really nice way to express gratitude to the people who have made it all possible.”

With a different lead into the Games thanks to open borders and race miles in the legs, Montag is going to Paris primed, more confident in herself and more assured of who she is.

"In the lead into Tokyo, because of Melbourne's very strict lockdowns, and also Australia being so far away from the rest of the world, I hadn't competed against my international competitors for quite some time," she said.

"I remember being in that lead pack for a lot of the race in Tokyo but when we got to the sticky end, and the winner made her big move, some people had to decide whether to go with that move. I didn’t have the self-belief or the confidence to know whether I could compete against those women.