Athletes in Paris 2024 will become coaches through the AIS program

Retired Paralympians Richard Voris, Melissa Tapper and Jed Altschwager will mentor the next generation of Olympians, Paralympians and Commonwealth Games athletes after being named to the Australian Institute of Sport's (AIS) second Gen32 Coach Program.

AIS Gen32 was established in 2022 to increase depth and diversity within Australia's high-performance coaching ranks ahead of the home games in Brisbane, and to provide emerging or early-career coaches with a two-year paid internship in Australia's elite sports programs the country.

Tapper, who competed in table tennis at this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games, gold medal-winning Parisian para-rower Altschwager and Voris, who represented the Australian Steelers wheelchair rugby team at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, are part of a group of 30 up-and-coming talents. upcoming coaches who will work in 23 sports.

Altschwager recently started as a para sports transition coach at the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI), a role that is part of the $54.9 million AIS Para Uplift project.

Coaching is a key focus in the remaining eight years for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games because you can't have world-class athletes without world-class coaches, said Executive General Manager of AIS Performance Matti Clements.

The AIS Gen32 Coach Program is a partnership with our national sports organizations and the National Institute Network, providing 29 coaches with a career-changing experience during the first two years of the program.

It is pleasing to see that more than half of the emerging group are women, with the AIS committed to working with sport to address gender inequality in high-performance coaching roles by Brisbane 2032.

The women's cohort includes swimming coach Kate Sparkes, who coached Chelsea Gubecka at the Paris Olympics, and Rowan Crothers, Katja Dedekind and Poppy Wilson at the Paralympics.

Sparkes, who is participating in the SASI swimming program, said: I am so excited to participate in the program. I think this is a really good opportunity to expand my knowledge, brainstorm with other coaches and get more education on the high performance side of things.

The AIS Gen32 Coach Program 2025-26 runs from January 2025 to December 2026.

AIS Gen32 2025-26 coaches:

Bruna Accurso, Boccia Australia

Jed Altschwager, South Australian Sports Institute and Paralympics Australia

Renae Birgan, Shooting Australia and Victorian Institute of Sport

Ryan Carneli, CombatAUS and Australian Taekwondo

Amelia Catt, Australian Sailing

Ryan Cuskelly, Squash Australia

Samantha De Riter, AusCycling and Victorian Institute of Sport

Amee Donohoe, Surfing Australia and New South Wales Institute of Sport

David Fraumano, Rowing Australia

Tom Gatti, Rowing Australia and Western Australian Institute of Sport

Tim Geers, Hockey Australia and Western Australian Institute of Sport

Cameron Gledhill, Swimming Australia and Queensland Academy of Sport

Nathan Hedge, Surfing Australia and Queensland Academy of Sport

Lauren Hyde-Cooling, Athletics Australia and Western Australian Institute of Sport

Andrew Kyle, Australian Baseball Federation

Karen Murphy AM, Bowls Australia

Eddie Ockenden, Hockey Australia and Tasmanian Institute of Sport

Deborah Schulstad, Athletics Australia and New South Wales Institute of Sport

Brendan Sexton, AusTriathlon

Jemma Smith, Paddle Australia and New South Wales Institute of Sport

Kate Sparkes, Swimming Australia and South Australian Sports Institute

Paris Speirs, Snow Australia

Melissa Tapper, Table Tennis Australia

Irene Torrealba Merida, Sport Climbing Australia

Hannah Trethewy, Cricket Australia

Richard Voris, Wheelchair Rugby Australia and Paralympic Games Australia

Neridah Wearne, Softball Australia

Rohan Wight, AusCycling and South Australian Sports Institute

Helen Winterburn, Australia Football

Shanon Zunker, Volleyball Australia and Queensland Academy of Sport

By David Sygall, Australia Paralympics.

Published December 2017, 2024.