Olympic Kooka call has Kiel laughing
- Glen Mccullough
- 11th July 2008
THOUSANDS of kilometres spent travelling the road between Toowoomba and Brisbane has delivered Kiel Brown to his ultimate destination.
Brown yesterday became Toowoomba's ninth Beijing Olympian when he was named in Australia's 16-man Kookaburra squad to compete at the Games from August 8.
The 23-year-old will make his Olympic debut in tandem with his sister Hope Munro who last month won a place in the Hockeyroos squad alongside former Toowoomba pair Nikki Hudson and Angie Lambert.
Joining the hockey quartet in China will be Justin Anlezark (shot put), Pippa Savage and Sally Kehoe (rowing), Tiffany Day (judo) and Jared Graves (BMX).
“We were told last week about our selection and it's had a little while to sink in,” Brown said yesterday from Perth.
“But it's still a great moment when you hear your name officially read out.
“I suppose it's every young kid's dream to represent their country and it's awesome to think in about a month's time I'll be an Olympian.”
Brown's rise to the pinnacle of his sport is a family triumph built around sacrifice and dedication.
As a junior, Brown for three years travelled to Brisbane three times a week to train and play with the Commercial Club.
When his school days finished at Toowoomba Grammar, Brown immediately moved to Brisbane before gambling on a shift to Perth to further his hockey career.
“Along with my brothers and sisters I owe my parents (Neil and Janelle) a big thank-you for the sacrifices they made for me along the way,” Brown said.
“This is our ultimate reward for all those Brisbane trips and the money mum and dad must have spent helping us.
“At that stage our hockey involvement just seemed to be built around the love of the sport.
“I don't think the Olympics were actually on the radar until I played in the 2006 Junior World Cup where we won a silver medal.
“It was around about then I started thinking - hey maybe the Olympic Games is a realistic goal.
“It's going to be great now over there alongside Hope.
“A lot of our family will be there and the challenge now is to get on that medal dais.”
