Selected as part of the Paris 2024 Olympic sprint kayaking team in the men’s K4, Riley will be joined by fellow surf lifesavers from across the county including Jackson Collins, Noah Havard and Pierre van der Westhuyzen, who will all make their Olympic debut.

Surf Life Saving and sprint kayaking share a proud history, with some of the great medallists in the sport including Kenny Wallace, Clint Robinson and Dennis Green, also surf ski paddlers and part of their local Surf Life Saving Clubs.

“I remember chatting to Noah (Havard) when he was starting to take up kayaking and I just said to him he’s pretty much done 90 percent of the work having paddled surf skis. It’s that extra 10 percent crossover in coming to kayaking.

“It's pretty special that all four of us in that K4 have come from a Surf Life Saving background. Pierre is just getting into the Surf Life Saving stuff now but there’s a lot of similarities to the London 2012 K4 team that also had a Surf Life Saving community background and that support doesn’t go unnoticed,” he said.

That London 2012 K4 he refers to featured Murray Stewart, David Smith, Tate Smith and Jacob Clear that won gold and the hearts of a nation.

“I think what we do so well in Surf Life Saving is we get to those team events, we all want to rip in for each other, be shoulder to shoulder, and when we come to the kayak we love getting in those team boats and digging in for each other,” Riley said.

Since making his debut at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Riley is now one of the veterans of Australia's Olympic kayaking team. He has one purpose he’ll be sticking to.

“I’m leaving no stone unturned and giving it my all every single day, all the way to Paris.”

Rio 2016. Tokyo 2020. Paris 2024.

Three very different Olympic experiences.

“Going to 2016, I was a young member of the team and didn’t really have a concept of the sport as much as I do now,” Riley said.

“Those four years from starting in the sport to going to an Olympic Games went very quickly for me, I was on a fast learning curve.

“There was a lot of excitement, joy and happiness to go to the first Olympics. But our sporting careers flash by so quickly and if I think back to Rio, I don’t remember all that much from it. 

“There were a lot of good things I do remember…a lot of excitement. But even just sitting on the start line, it’s almost a blur now thinking back to 2016.

“And then we had Tokyo, and I didn’t feel like I was done after that, that burning motivation was still there to keep going and that was my motivation to come back (for Paris),” he said.

Now selected and preparing for his third Olympic Games, Riley is drawing on the experience of his former teammates as he finds himself in an unfamiliar position.

“[Leading into my third Games] I think about all the other paddlers that have gone to three Olympics like Murray Stewart and Kenny Wallace.

“What separates me from them is the medals, but if I wanted to go and just chase medals at my third Olympics I don’t think I’ll get the result that I want.

“I’m really just trying to enjoy each step of the process on this journey to my third Olympics. It was so invigorating having the time off after Tokyo and then coming back and paddling with a bunch of young guys...I see a lot of myself in them.

“They’re new, they’re fresh to the sport and they’re always learning. We’re having a really good time in the K4 at the moment, and we’re only a really steep incline to where we want to get to in Paris,” he said.

When it comes to what Riley is looking forward to most in Paris 2024, it’s being joined again by his family and friends, but especially his fiance Georgia Miller.

Riley, and his Surf Life Saving ironwoman fiance Miller, got engaged in December 2022, with their wedding scheduled for after the Paris Olympics.

“We’re both professional athletes in our own sports, so seeing her and what she goes through every day - we both complement each other in that we know what each other goes through and how we can support each other through that.

“She’s coming to Paris, so she’ll be there watching, which is really special and super exciting to have her in my corner. She gets pretty nervous watching me I think.

“She posted a photo watching me in Tokyo and she was a bit of a nervous wreck there on the couch by herself with our dog Norman.

“So we’ll see how she goes over in Paris, but I’m really excited to have her over there and maybe for once she’ll be known as Riley’s partner, instead of me being Georgia’s partner,” he said.

When the men’s K4 line up for the first time at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Tuesday 6 August, Riley said his words of advice for his teammates will be simple.

“Be in the moment.

“It’s about centering yourself in those moments and remembering you are at the Olympics - it’s a very special thing.”