The 24-year-old is part of the women's four in Paris who will look to emulate the gold medal triumph at the last Games in Tokyo. But the main thing is that having beaten brain cancer, she is wishing to achieve her dream of competing in the Olympics.

It's a new-look crew with Mitchell joining fellow debutante Lily Alton along with Olympia Aldersey and Molly Goodman, who are competing at their third Olympics. At 16, Mitchell underwent surgery to remove a tumour followed by radiation and chemotherapy and was off the water for two years before fighting her way back to earn selection for Paris.

“It's so incredible, I'm so excited to be here, I've been looking forward to this for a long time and I didn't think it would be possible for a while”, Mitchell said from the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium where she will compete for the first time on Sunday 27 July. “I've just been working away the past few years and have finally gotten to a point where I'm fit and healthy and good enough to make the team and that's where we are now”, she tells.

Mitchell had to start back at 'square one', spending just one minute on the rowing machine when she got back into training. She still has issues with her balance, hearing and tiredness and requires six-monthly MRI scans to ensure the cancer hasn't returned.

But she didn't expect any different treatment to her teammates. “I don't want my path to be easier than everyone else's otherwise I will feel a bit sad about that, I just like to get on with it”, she said.

Alton said Mitchell was an inspiration for their crew but not just for her cancer battle. “Just hearing Jean's story is incredibly inspiring but also just having the privilege to be able to row with someone who is like who she is as a person”, said Queenslander Alton.

“The entire team loves her and everyone supports her and gets around her and she's just the biggest asset I think and I believe to not only our boat but just the team within itself, we're so lucky to have her”, adds. Alton, 25, sits in front of Mitchell in the boat and said her crewmate was always in her ear with encouragement, or jokes.

Matching the gold medal feat of Tokyo will be a tough task. Aldersey and Goodman bring experience as they were part of the women's eight in Rio and Tokyo before shifting into the four. But the new four won silver in the most recent World Cup in Poland, which was their first race together.

“Not everyone was there that we'll be competing against here however, I do think that it was a good confidence boost for us”, Alton said. “Everyone is extremely competitive in this field so the only thing that we can do is just focus on moving the boat as fast as we can and just trying to lay out our best race together”, concludes.

Her last achievements

In the last competitions in 2023, she missed out on international selection but continued to win domestic regattas including the open coxless four with Melbourne University at the Australian Rowing Championships. She was back on the international season earlier this year, racing at World Rowing Cup II in the women’s four and then in both the four and the eight at World Rowing Cup III, claiming silver in both.

Soon after World Rowing Cup III, on 30 June, it was official, Jean had been selected as part of the Australian Olympic Rowing Team. She was going to Paris as one of the “Rowsellas!" Speaking on her selection, Jean said “I’m struggling to put into words how much this means to me and how grateful I am to the village of people who helped me get here. To my friends and family, who have been there to support me through my cancer journey and the highs and lows of this sport, I love you so much.”

The determination shown by Jean is a true inspiration to so many people as she demonstrated incredible fighting spirit to return to competitive rowing and forge a place for herself on the Australian rowing team. She has dreamed of the Olympics since being at kindergarten and in just a couple of weeks, that dream will come true in Vaires-sur-Marne, Paris.