A state-of-the-art sports training centre in northern Italy is shaping up as a key Olympic and Paralympic weapon for Australian sport as our leading athletes focus on securing a place on the London 2012 Games teams.

Opened early last year, the Australian Government’s European Training Centre (ETC) has quickly become a key destination for Australian teams and athletes competing and training in the lead-up to the Olympics and Paralympics.

Located in the picturesque Province of Varese, in the town of Gavirate, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) centre enhances Australia’s ability to maintain its competitive advantage when our athletes are training or competing overseas.

The ETC’s facilities and services are available to all elite Australian athletes training or competing in Europe and have already attracted the likes of swimming star Ian Thorpe and Australian Socceroos captain Lucas Neill.

Neill, a former AIS scholarship holder, says having access to our leading sport science and sport medicine staff, services and facilities is a great advantage for European based Australian athletes.

The Australian Sports Commission will be featuring regular athlete interviews and profiles of sports using the ETC in the lead-up to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

More information on the ETC can be found on the ASC website.