Inside Australia’s $38m plan to conquer the VIP Olympics in LA

Los Angeles: Anna Meares is sipping a cappuccino at a trendy bakery just off the famed Sunset Boulevard.

During the hustle and bustle of the 2024 Olympics, in her role as Australia’s chef de mission – effectively the boss of the country’s Olympians – Meares estimates she got through three or four cups a day.

“I learned that I can function with minimal sleep, thanks to my kids,” Meares says.

We are both a few minutes late for our scheduled catch-up on a warm summer day under blue skies. My Uber took 25 minutes to arrive. Meares was also held up by LA’s notorious traffic.

Not that it matters today. But it will in 2028 when the world comes to town.

“Transport is a big challenge for the organising committee. It’s a big car culture in LA, but we do believe there will be an Olympic lane,” Meares says. “Traffic is traffic and accidents happen.”

This is a vastly different pace to those 19 days in Paris – including events held before the opening ceremony – when Australia enjoyed its most successful Olympics, claiming 18 gold, 19 silver and 16 bronze (53) to finish fourth on the medal tally behind the United States (126), China (91) and Japan (45).

Meares is here because she did such a good job in Paris, according to the powers that be at the Australian Olympic Committee, prompting the four-time Olympian to be reinstated for the role ahead of LA2028.

In 698 days, Meares won’t be cruising around LA cafes. She’ll be zigzagging across America’s second-most populous city, watching Australia’s Olympians compete while keeping the house in order.

Not that she is taking it easy on this trip. Later on this day, Meares will show Australia’s swimmers around the UCLA campus, which will house the main Olympic village. The training facilities available to athletes at the village are world-class.

Meares has spent the past few days immersed in the Dolphins’ inner sanctum at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine. She has attended not only finals, watching potential stars of 2028 battle the best swimmers from the USA, Canada and China, but also the heats. Even the most ardent swimming fan would concede those aren’t always riveting.

Meares has been there next to Dolphins head coach Rohan Taylor, flicking her hand above her head and urging swimmers to the wall, like a punter riding home a horse at the races.

A meticulous planner as a cyclist, Meares is on her second reconnaissance trip to LA this year.

The LA Games will be the Olympics on steroids. Bad expression, I concede, which still elicits a laugh.