They are three of the 17 athletes with ties to the Illawarra area to represent Australia at the most recent Summer and Winter Olympiads.

The group covers 10 different sports from Surfing to Cycling, with the most Olympians coming from Athletics (Sarah Carli, Jye Edwards and Jessica Hull). There are six medallists who brought home five gold, two silver and four bronze medals combined.

Emma, the most successful Australian Olympian in history, has a place on the wall for a second time.

"It is a privilege to be on this wall and to be here today at this event," Emma said.

"I have my family here with me and it's special because it's Wollongong, it's my hometown."

Sarah (Athletics) and Matt (Snowboard) now have their respective Olympic debuts etched on the wall.

"To come home, have such a welcome and to have my name on the wall, it's an incredible feeling," Matt said.

The tribute wall can be found at Lang Park, opposite Wollongong Beach. The wall was created in 2000 as part of a Sydney Olympic Games community initiative and now has 146 Olympians on it, representing 29 sports.

The wall is approximately 70m long, 2.4m high in the centre and every title used has been donated.

Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Illawarra Tribute Wall Olympians

• Sarah Carli (Athletics)
• Matthew Cox (Snowboard)
• Jye Edwards (Athletics)
• Sally Fitzgibbons (Surfing)
• Caitlin Foord (Football)
• Blake Govers (Hockey)
• Jessica Hull (Athletics)
• Joel King (Football)
• Emma McKeon (Swimming)
• Flynn Ogilvie (Hockey)
• Ellen Perez (Tennis)
• Kye Rowles (Football)
• Saya Sakakibara (Cycling - BMX)
• Grace Stewart (Hockey)
• Emma Tonegato (Rugby Sevens)
• Kieran Woolley (Skateboarding)
• Owen Wright (Surfing)

In a significant milestone, the names of Illawarra Paralympians have also be included on the tribute wall for the first time, starting with the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Paralympic athletes.

Image credit: Wollongong City Council