TEAM: Hard work, commitment and chasing their dream has earned Chloe Esposito and her younger brother Max,
selection on the 2016 Australian Olympic Team for the Rio Games.
The Esposito siblings from Casula in Sydney’s south-west are the first two athletes selected on the 2016 AustralianOlympic Team.
Their outstanding performances at the Modern Pentathlon Asia/Oceania Olympic qualifier in Beijing earned themnomination from Modern Pentathlon Australia to the Australian Olympic Committee and this was endorsed by the Rio Team Selection Committee today.
Max at just 17 years of age beat the Olympic silver medallist and moved from fifth to first on the final event to win onTuesday. Chloe, 23, was just off the podium in fourth spot on Monday. This result follows two top-10 World Cupfinishes by Chloe this season and shows she has put the injuries from 2013 and 2014 behind her. Both athletes
fulfilled their qualification criteria by winning the Oceania title.
It is an amazing family affair with their dad Daniel Esposito, a 1984 Olympian in modern pentathlon, also being their
coach. It is a dream come true for Chloe and Max to be going to the Olympics together.
"All the time Max and I talked about it, we wanted to be together at Rio," Chloe, who finished a remarkable seventh onOlympic debut in 2012, said."It’s amazing. I came here and did what I had to do and I am so proud of Max and his gold medal. We now have 430days to focus until the Olympic Games.
Max knew he wanted to be an Olympian like his dad and big sister when he was cheering for Chloe at the London
Olympics.
"It is so good to have a sister as an Olympian and to be going to the Olympics with her now is just amazing," Max saidthrough his beaming smile after upstaging athletes with years of experience.He is the first Australian male to ever podium at a senior international event and this result follows making the finals athis first three World Cup attempts."Because mum and dad have provided me with the right direction, and the AOC have helped me gain an IOCsolidarity scholarship," Max said, when asked what the secret to his outstanding season has been.
Not to be forgotten is sister Emily who represented Australia at the Youth Olympics and Commonwealth Games in
shooting. She is based in Melbourne and was competing in Munich while her siblings were chasing selection in
Beijing.
Chloe, Max, Daniel and mum Suzanne have based themselves for most of the year in Europe since 2013 to ensure
the best training environment for success at the Rio Games. Their training base in Budapest, Hungary and
commitment to be the best is paying off.
"It's the training that's the most important. If you can't do it in training, you can't do it in competition. And that's how wetrain. The competition is the easy part," coach and dad Daniel said.
Kitty Chiller the 2016 Team Chef de Mission and Sydney Olympian was cheering on the Australian athletes in
Beijing."I am so proud of both Chloe and Max, two young athletes with a huge future," Chiller said. "Their performance on and off the field is exemplary. It was an especially proud moment for me to not only witness thesupreme results here but also that my sport of modern pentathlon has the first athletes qualified by name for our RioTeam."To see two young Australians perform so well and in such a manner was wonderful. I cannot wait to see what theycan do in Rio!"
The Espositos are a quiet unassuming family. Daniel is full of praise for the people and competitors that have
contributed to their success.
"I want to thank Kitty (Chiller) for all her belief and backing for the last two years, she is always there for us. And I
especially want to thank an old friend Peter Ridgeway for being part of our team and helping us achieve what we did
here in Beijing.
"I also want to thank Ed Fernon - I knew I had to train Max as best as possible because of the high quality athlete I
knew he would be up against."
Fernon did an outstanding job representing Australia at the London Olympics and applied the pressure to Max in the
Rio qualifier but Esposito was just too good. Fernon will now need to win a medal at the World Championships or
greatly improve his world ranking to make it to a second Olympics.
Youth Olympian Marina Carrier competed in the women’s event and she will no doubt benefit from the experience
and be pushing Chloe for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Full reports from the Women’s and Men’s Modern Pentathlon qualifiers in Beijing can be found at
http://corporate.olympics.com.au/sports/modern-pentathlon/news
Modern Pentathlon Section of the 2016 Australian Olympic Team
Name - Age - Event - Resides
Chloe Esposito * 23 Individual - Women Budapest, Hungary and Casula, NSW 2170
Max Esposito * 17 Individual – Men Budapest, Hungary and Casula, NSW 2170
*subject to UIPM written confirmation of quota places and satisfactory completion of administrative requirements.
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