Aussie athlete Celeste Mucci responds after AFL player boyfriend forced to miss Olympics

Australian Olympic Games hurdler Celeste Mucci has accepted that her boyfriend - GWS Giants defender Jack Buckley - won't be able to fly over and watch her compete in Paris. Buckley has been left between a rock and a hard place after wanting to fly over and support his girlfriend at her first Olympics, but at the same time not letting his AFL team down while they're trying to qualify for the finals.

Buckley's Giants are currently fifth on the ladder and locked in a fierce battle to make the finals, with a number of teams either equal on points or just behind them. And if GWS were to grant Buckley permission to fly to Paris to watch Mucci in the 110m hurdles, it would rule him out of a crucial match against the second-placed Brisbane Lions.

The GWS defender admitted that he was "too scared" to broach the possibility of leaving his team and flying to Paris when he approached Giants coach Adam Kingsley recently. And Buckley said the coach wasn't too keen on the idea either. “It is very exciting that Celeste made it, and we are all very excited to watch,” Buckley said on Triple M. “I was in his (Kingsley’s) office... and he does love his athletics, so I was actually too scared to ask him. And he knew I was trying to ask him but was too scared to get it out.

"He picked up the fixture and sort of looked at who we had... (Brisbane in Round 22). So he said, ‘Nah mate you are not going’. I’m getting a lot of flak around it but unfortunately it is out of my hands. We will see. It is very unlikely and I’m also scared to ask him again.”

Celeste Mucci responds to boyfriend Jack Buckley's dilemma

Mucci has since responded to the situation around her boyfriend and admits that while "it sucks" he can't come to Paris to cheer her on, she knows Buckley will be supporting her from back home. "We've been supporting each other from a distance. He's going to be a great support either way, whether he's here or not. It's important for the Giants to have him,' Mucci said on Triple M Breakfast with Rosie, Wil & Daisy.

The athletics star is competing in her first Olympics after narrowly missing selection for the Tokyo Games three years ago, but understands the sacrifices that come with dating a fellow professional athlete. "As much as it sucks, it's an Olympic year, I just hope the Giants do well and it's worth it in the end. I hope I can come home and we can all celebrate together," she added.

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Mucci is set to compete at her first Olympics after overcoming a nasty hamstring injury she suffered in February. Following confirmation of her place in Australia's track and field team for the Paris Games she wrote on Instagram: "I AM GOING TO THE OLYMPICS. Delayed but not denied.

"This year was the hardest physically and mentally to try qualify. After rupturing my hamstring tendon amd getting surgery in February I did everything I could to get back healthy. Focus on yourself and you can achieve anything. Thank you to my amazing team around me."

Mucci has come on in leaps and bounds since missing selection for the Tokyo Games, with the 24-year-old competing at the Commonwealth Games team and the World Championships in 2022. Mucci had her best season to date in 2023 after clocking her six fastest times before suffering the injury setback that required surgery in February. The heats of the hurdles will take place on August 7 and Mucci will be gunning for a place in the final, which will be held on August 10.