Paris Olympians and Paralympians were recognised at the Australia Day Honours.
Among them were VIS alumni Grace Brown, who recently retired from her athlete career at the end of 2024, and VIS cyclist Kelland O'Brien. Both athletes were honoured for their service to sport as a gold medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Brown's impressive career also saw her compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games, win gold in the Women's Individual Time Trial at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022 and secure her first rainbow jersey as World Champion at the UCI World Championships in Zurich in 2024.
O'Brien's gold in Paris was his second Olympic medal, winning bronze in the Men's Team Pursuit in Tokyo. He is also a Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the Men's Team Pursuit from the Gold Coast games in 2018.
Joining O'Brien at the Australia Day Honours were his Paris teammates, Oliver Bleddyn, Conor Leahy and Sam Welsford, who together broke the world record on the way to gold in Paris.
Victorian Institute of Sport also congratulates all other athletes, administrators, officials and volunteers recognised in the Australia Day Honours and thanks them for their contributions to Australian sport.
