Basketball power couple hoping to make history at the Paris Olympics together

Basketballers Anneli Maley and Marena Whittle are not only hoping to triumph golden for Australia astatine nan Paris Olympics together - they're looking to animate those successful nan LGBTQIA+ organization who are struggling pinch their identities.

Maley and Whittle play together connected the Australian 3x3 hoops squad and are gearing up for nan Paris Games later this month.

The proud same-sex mates are wished to get connected nan podium together, but besides want to alert nan emblem for group successful their organization who are confused pinch their identities.

'It's astir getting to create thing that is normal and to person visibility for nan LGBTQIA+ community,' Maley told News Corp.

'It's evidently astir basketball, but really cool is it that we get to beryllium that illustration for nan younger girls and boys who get to spot that practice connected an Olympic stage.

'Some young ones whitethorn beryllium acrophobic to enactment thing (about their sexuality), truthful hopefully seeing america astatine nan Olympics tin put them astatine easiness and thief successful immoderate way.'

Maley and Whittle are besides excited astir competing successful Paris - a metropolis they've some ever admired.

'I get to spell to nan Olympics pinch my person,' Maley said astir Whittle.

'I get to spot not only each nan difficult activity that I've put in, but I've besides seen each nan activity that Marena has put successful down nan scenes and it's beautiful amazing.

'An accomplishment to spell to nan Olympics pinch my life partner is beautiful cool. It's thing that we'll get to talk astir astatine nan wedding and for years to travel erstwhile we are grey and old.'

The Australian women's 3x3 hoops squad won nan FIBA Asian Cup title earlier successful 2024 and are group to go nan first Aussie 3x3 squad to compete astatine nan Olympics.

The broadside is presently classed 29 successful nan world and person been successful terrific shape pinch a caller triumph complete China.

Maley believes nan Aussie squad tin podium successful Paris.

'We person to beryllium confident,' she said.

'That's 1 of nan astir important things playing 3x3 is nan self-belief.

'It's a 10 infinitesimal game, truthful location is nary room for you to mobility anything.

'It's a title to 21, but I deliberation arsenic a group we've conscionable performed truthful well.'

In 2023, nan mates said of nan hassle of surviving isolated while playing ing different home teams.

'The astir important portion was america establishing our ain careers first and past we'll travel together astatine immoderate constituent successful nan future,' Maley told The West Australian's The Dribble Podcast.

'But there's nary unit to do that. We don't person to. If it happens, it happens.

'I would emotion to play connected nan aforesaid squad arsenic her because we play successful nan Australian 3x3 squad together and we're unstoppable successful that space.'