In the middle of outback Queensland in a small town called Longreach, four-time Olympian and triple Olympic gold medallist Emily Seebohm joined locals on Matilda Way to cheer on the Matildas in game two against Zambia.
Emily was joined by people from across the outback town at one of the many Olympics LIVE sites across Queensland. From Cairns in the north, Gold Coast in the south, and Longreach in the west, Queensland communities are gathering to get behind the Australian Olympic athletes competing during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The enthusiastic locals battled chilly conditions in the town at 3am to support the Aussie women’s football team, as the Matildas defeated Zambia 6-5 in their second pool game early Monday morning.
Emily was also in town for the festivities and hosted a swimming clinic on Sunday morning for local kids in the area before joining the crowd to cheer on the Matildas in the early hours of Monday morning.
“It’s so important to inspire kids in rural communities and connect them to sport and the Olympic Spirit, with the Brisbane Games ahead there could be a young girl here tonight in Longreach that could be a star Matilda in 2032.” Emily said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been up at 3am to watch sport before but wow! What a start to a Monday morning in Longreach. It was a little bit chilly but if felt warm with the way that result went.”
“You don’t know how much kids actually love watching sport and to watch the Matildas fight back from being down as well. It was a great opportunity for kids to see that it’s not all over, you can come back from it and it doesn’t matter what the first half says or the score on the board or your time. There’s always a chance to get better and come back stronger and the Matildas did that.”
“I think that resilience is a big thing in sports, and something that kids need to learn at a young age. You might have one bad result or even two bad results, but you can always come back and get better and show that you have so much fight in you, and I think the Matildas really proved that.”
LIVE sites will also activate in Townsville and Hervey Bay next weekend (2-4 August) and sites across Queensland will activate again for the Paralympic Games.
