Carolyn Rayna Buckle, known in competition as Rayna Buckle, was born in Singapore on 29 August 2000 to a Singaporean mother and Australian father. She attended Methodist Girls School in Singapore. The public Australian Olympic Committee profile does not identify a more specific birthplace or provide a complete account of her earliest club affiliations.
Her international career began with Singapore. At 15, she made her first FINA World Artistic Swimming Championships appearance in 2015, helping Singapore’s team place 19th. She was also selected as reserve for both duet routines at the 2018 FINA Junior World Championships. At the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, she placed 20th in the team free event and 19th in team technical; at the April 2019 FINA World Series event in Japan, Singapore finished fifth in team technical and sixth in team free with Buckle in the contingent.
After finishing school, Buckle moved to Australia in 2020 to study a Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy) at the University of Sydney. The AOC says she joined Sydney Emeralds and trained at Cook and Phillip Pool in Hyde Park, New South Wales during that phase. The AOC lists Gold Coast Mermaids as her senior club and coach Erica Li; the available sources do not establish exactly when the Gold Coast association began or describe every club in her development.
Buckle’s Australian Olympic opportunity came through a late change to the Tokyo 2020 team: the AOC announced in July 2021 that she replaced Hannah Cross, who had retired. The Tokyo Games were held in 2021 after postponement, and Buckle competed for Australia in the team event. This was not merely a reserve listing: the AOC and Olympedia record her as an Olympic competitor.
Her post-Tokyo international record included the 2023 Aquatics World Championships in Fukuoka. In team technical, she was part of the Australian group that reached the world-championship team final for the first time since 2007; in technical duet, she partnered Kiera Gazzard and the pair became the first Australian duo in more than 20 years to finish inside the world-championship top 20. Independent specialist coverage records her 2023 finishes as 12th in technical team and 19th in technical duet.
At Paris 2024, Buckle competed in both the Australian team and the duet with Gazzard. The AOC describes the team’s technical, free and acrobatic routines and the duet’s Charlie’s Angels and Kung Fu Panda themes. Outside the pool, the AOC profile says she is studying dental health science at Griffith University on the Gold Coast; no reliable opened source located documented hobbies or a separate career, so none is inferred here.
Career highlights
- Made her senior world-championship debut for Singapore at age 15 in 2015; Singapore placed 19th in the team event.
- Was reserve for both duet routines at the 2018 FINA Junior World Championships.
- Recorded 19th in team technical and 20th in team free at the 2019 FINA World Championships.
- Helped Singapore place fifth in team technical and sixth in team free at the April 2019 FINA World Series event in Japan.
- Joined Australia's senior artistic swimming pathway after moving to Australia in 2020 and has been on the Australian senior team since 2021.
- Was selected for Tokyo 2020 in 2021 as the replacement for retired Hannah Cross.
- At the 2023 World Championships, was part of Australia's first team-final appearance since 2007 and a technical-duet top-20 finish in more than 20 years.
- Competed in both team and duet at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, partnering Kiera Gazzard in the duet.
Selected competition results
| Year | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Artistic Swimming — Team, Open | 9th (Australia) |
| 2024 | Artistic Swimming — Duet, Women | 16th (with Kiera Gazzard) |
| 2024 | Artistic Swimming — Team, Open | 9th (Australia) |
Beyond the pool
The AOC records that Buckle completed Methodist Girls School in Singapore, moved to Australia in 2020 to study a Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy) at the University of Sydney, and later studied dental health science at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. No reliable opened source documented hobbies or a separate professional career.
Sources & further reading
- 1Carolyn Rayna Buckle — Australian Olympic Committee
- 2Rayna Buckle — Olympedia
- 3Artistic Swimmer Rayna Buckle Selected for Tokyo 2020 — Australian Olympic Committee
- 4Carolyn Rayna Buckle — Inside Synchro
The AOC profile is the primary source and lists Singapore as birthplace, Gold Coast Mermaids as senior club, Erica Li as coach, and Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 as Olympic history. Olympedia independently confirms birth date, Sydney Emeralds affiliation, and Olympic participation/results. Tokyo 2020 was held in 2021; Buckle was selected as a replacement for Hannah Cross, but she subsequently competed, so this is recorded as an Olympic appearance rather than a reserve-only selection. The AOC text does not specify the start date of her Gold Coast Mermaids association, her first club, or hobbies; the club relationship is therefore qualified. Inside Synchro is a specialist secondary source for annual international results and reports no international competition in 2025, but current status should not be inferred from that historical profile.