Geelong shot putter Damien Birkinhead has been selected for his debut Olympics, one of 28 new athletes to join the team for Rio.
Athletics Australia head coach Craig Hilliard said Birkinhead won selection after improving his performances.
“The athletes named so far are a fantastic mix of youth and experience making us well placed for Rio and for beyond to Tokyo,” Hilliard said.
“There have been a lot of young athletes that have stepped up in the Olympic year such as Damien Birkinhead.”
Birkinhead’s selection was announced this week at a gala dinner at Sydney Olympic Park following the conclusion of the four-day Australian Championships.
The 22 year-old Birkinhead improved his personal best by 81 centimetres in eight months.
Although a calf injury meant he was unable to throw at the trials, he earlier threw a personal best distance to easily pass the Olympic qualifying standard of 20.50 metres.
His throw of 21.21 metres in Hobart in February moved him to second on the Australian all-time list.
Birkinhead’s best is now just five centimetres shy of the Australian record, held by his coach Scott Martin.
In 2010, Birkinhead was a finalist at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and in 2012 he won bronze at the World Junior Championships in Barcelona.
Two years later he took out the national shot put title which automatically qualified him for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where he placed fifth.
Birkinhead won his third national title in Brisbane in 2015 as well as taking home gold in Leiden, Netherlands at the Golden Spike.
The Corio athletics club member trains at the Victorian Institute of Sport.
