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Australia Picks A Real Tongue Twister of A Triathlon Team

Ryan, Ryan, Emma, Erin, Aaron and Ashleigh.
By 

Sports Editor, HuffPost Australia

One of the rare occasions on which our male triathletes take centre stage over the women.
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One of the rare occasions on which our male triathletes take centre stage over the women.

Ryan, Ryan, Emma, Erin, Aaron, Ashleigh. Try saying that six times with a mouth full of breakfast cereal.

This was the tricky task facing Australia's Rio Olympics Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller on Monday morning as she announced the six-strong Aussie triathlon team for Rio. Their full names plus some other stuff you might like to know:

Emma Moffatt

31, born in Moree (NSW), lives on Gold Coast (QLD), 3rd Games.

Erin Densham

31, born in Sydney (NSW), lives in Campbelltown (NSW), 3rd Games.

Ashleigh Gentle

24, born in South Brisbane (QLD), lives on Gold Coast (QLD), 1st Games.

Ryan Bailie (not to be confused with cyclist Ryan Bayley who won two golds at Athens 2004)

25, born in Bunbury (WA), lives in Wollongong (NSW), 1st Games.

Aaron Royle

26, born in Newcastle, lives in Wollongong (NSW), 1st Games.

Ryan Fisher

25, Born and lives in Brisbane (QLD), 1st Games.

Australia has a proud history in triathlon since it was first introduced to the Olympic program at the Sydney 2000 Games. We've won five medals, which is one more than any other nation. We've also won at least one medal at every Olympics.

Our lone gold was won by Emma Snowsill at Beijing 2008. Emma Moffatt won bronze at those Games and will try to improve in Rio after falling from her bike in London.

What a dual emma: That's Emma Moffatt on the right after winning bronze in Beijing.
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What a dual emma: That's Emma Moffatt on the right after winning bronze in Beijing.

"It is a journey I'm looking forward to going on again and I think two Olympics worth of experience will really help me," she said.

The blokes? Never won an Olympic medal. All of Australia's triathlon glory has come courtesy of our women. But that might change this time if Olympic debutant Ryan Fisher has any say in the matter.

Fisher, 25, is a Queenslander who tackled his first triathlon aged 25 and absolutely hated it

"I remember finishing and thinking 'that's one of the worst things I'd ever done'. But he persisted and soon started winning races. And now he's going to the Olympics.

Australia is one of just four nations to fill its full quota of six triathletes for the Rio Olympics. The Rio course will be centred on Fort Copacabana at the southern end of Copacabana beach, where the swim leg will be sheltered from large swells by the headland on which the fort is situated.

That's Fort Copacabana at the bottom of the pic with Copacabana Beach above it. The triathlon happens in the last few days of the Games.
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That's Fort Copacabana at the bottom of the pic with Copacabana Beach above it. The triathlon happens in the last few days of the Games.

You can read more about our triathlon team at the Australian Olympic Committee site.

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