The Olympic spirit is alive and well in the Narrabri region, with children proudly wearing our green and gold colours in support of their Aussie sporting heroes.

This photo of 11-year-old Leo Roth diving into a paddock of wheat and canola at ‘Llara’ became an internet sensation when it was shared on the Australian Olympics’ social media pages.

“I wanted to share a country image,” said Leo’s mum Ingrid who captured the spectacular photo, which beautifully showcases our region from the lush crops at the Sydney University farm to the sprawling ranges in the distance.

Like many households, the Roths have been cheering loudly at their television screens, applauding Australia’s solid medal tally as well as the remarkable stories of athletes from around the world.

Australia’s success and sportsmanship at the Olympic Games are inspiring the next generation to paddle like Jess Fox, swim like Emma McKeon, jump like Brendon Starc, ride like Logan Martin, run like Rohan Browning and persevere like Peter Bol.

For many, the Games have been a welcome morale boost as we grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re pretty obsessed; the kids do a lot of sport – they love it,” said Mrs Roth about her family, including husband Guy and sons Christian, Leo and Viktor.

Mrs Roth said her sons were “very impressed” by high-jumper Brendon Starc who also has a local connection to the area and they’ve all enjoyed watching the track and field events, including discus competitor Matthew Denny.

“We’ve cheered as much for athletes who haven’t come away with a medal,” said Mrs Roth.

“Watching the Australian in the 10,000 metres was amazing.”

And the television isn’t the only Olympic view from the Roth’s home – they also look out onto a paddock of green and gold created by the growing wheat and canola crops.

“It does look like the paddock got painted for the Olympics – it looks like green and gold stripes.”

Mrs Roth said Leo has entered the patriotic photo in an Australian Olympics’ competition to win a pair of ASICS shoes and is hopeful the agricultural twist will give him the edge on his photo competitors.

See more like this:

To order photos from this page click here