Olympic and Paralympic athletes receive heroes’ welcome in Melbourne; Paralympic athlete Emily Petricola calls for gender equality

Australia’s Olympic performance in Paris was marked by a record-breaking medal haul of 53 medals – 18 gold, 19 silver and 16 bronze – won mainly by women. But at the Paralympics it was the men who dominated Australia’s haul, with 63 medals – 18 gold, 17 silver and 28 bronze.

Wearing her gold medal, Petricola said the International Paralympic Committee must prioritize gender equality.

“There aren’t as many places for women in the Paralympics as there are in the Olympics, there’s no gender parity yet… that needs to change. They need to open up more sports to women to get more representation, so there’s more balance with the medals,” she said.

Basketballer Marianna Tolo, who won bronze with the Opals in Paris, spoke of the solidarity among Australian female athletes at the Games and the overall positive experience.

“I think one of my favorite parts was cheering on the women’s water polo team. Coming from basketball, we really felt the love from the whole team and we knew the women were doing really well, and we had that feeling of support from the whole team and everyone around us,” Tolo said.

Opals captain Tess Madgen was proud to take bronze after the disappointment of the previous Games, but joked that she wished the medal had been “a few shades lighter”.

“Our tournament started off slow and we lost the first game,” said Madgen.

“We’ve come a long way in the last three years, not being on the podium in Tokyo and not being on the podium in Rio, and the Opals are expected to win a medal. Basketball has gotten a lot better worldwide, so it’s getting harder (to win).

“I couldn’t be more proud of the team and what we have achieved.”

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