Hamilton-born Melissa Tapper, who became the first Australian athlete to take part in both the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, has signed on to be a part of next month’s mammoth event.

Tapper was born with a brachial plexus Erb’s palsy – which is otherwise known as nerve damage affecting her right shoulder and arm. 

Although the 26-year-old now resides in South Melbourne, Tapper said she was “very excited” to be a part of the event, which will host more than 60 events staged entirely in the Warrnambool municipality.

​“I’m really lucky to be selected for something like this,” she told The Standard.

“I’ve been the special guest before, but that was in Hamilton, and because I’ve spent a lot of time through Warrnambool it will be nice to get around and travel around the area to watch a lot of the sports.

“It’s still quite overwhelming to have people asking me to be a special guest for something like this, because I kind of just think of myself as like everybody else. It’s definitely amazing.”

The former Monivae College student, who fell to Brazil’s Caroline Kumahara in the women’s singles preliminary round on day one of the Rio Olympics, said she was looking forward to soaking up rest and relaxation after months of strenuous training.

Despite her historic feat, Tapper said the emotions and pride surrounding her effort was still sinking in.

After a long-winded lead up to her Olympic campaign, she said she would look to spend some time away from table tennis in order to refresh for future challenges.

“At the moment we’re fairly fresh off Rio, so I’m just trying to enjoy a bit of downtime,” she said.

“I’m doing all the things I normally don’t get to do, like spending time with friends and family. I’m looking forward to doing some different things, but I’ll be keeping fit as well.

“What sport provides individuals with is absolutely priceless experiences. I’m lucky enough to have experienced what I have and to meet the people that I have.

“Those are the opportunities sport provides.”

She admitted the fun South West Games would allow her to enjoy the fruits of her labour after a tough year of training.

“It’s been a whirlwind year, and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it,” Tapper said.

“I guess now that all of that is over it will allow me to enjoy the fun stuff that comes at the end of the year, like this.”

The South West Games is set to run from November 5 to 13 at a host of venues across the city. It will be the 33^rd year of competition.