It will be Shellharbour's Caitlin Foord who helps kick things off, the Matildas to take on New Zealand on the opening day of the women's football competition.

Read more: Virus concerns cannot snuff Olympics flame for Illawarra's athletes

Foord is joined in the Australian team by former Stingray Mary Fowler, with the pair eager to start their tournament in winning fashion.

Overall there are 17 Illawarra athletes competing in Tokyo across 10 sports.

This is your complete guide to each of them, with full details on their events and when to watch.

The Olympics will be broadcast on Channel 7 and sister channels 7Mate and 7Two. If that's not enough, every sport will be streamed live on 7Plus meaning fans won't miss a minute of the action.

All times listed below are AEST.

Three Wollongong athletes will hit the track in Tokyo, with Jessica Hull, Jye Edwards and Sarah Carli to make their Olympic debuts.

Edwards and Hull are Albion Park Little Athletics graduates, the pair to compete in the men's and women's 1500 metres events, respectively.

Edwards has overcome a horror run with injuries to find top form in recent months and has his sights set on further improvement at the Games.

Hull competed at the 2019 World Championships and after narrowly missing the final in Doha, the 24-year-old is determined to race for a medal in Tokyo.

Carli has also had to clear multiple hurdles just to make it to Japan, the 26-year-old suffering a life-threatening injury after an accident in the gym.

She has been passed fit to race and will contest the 400m hurdles in Tokyo.

Emma McKeon will be Australia's ironwoman in the pool, the 27-year-old contesting seven events across the nine-day program.

A gold-medalist in the 4x100m freestyle relay in Rio, McKeon is looking to claim her first individual gold in Tokyo.

She's swum the fastest time in the world this year in the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle and she'll also be in the mix for a medal in the 100m butterfly.

McKeon will likely sit out the relay heat swims, however she's set to race for the medals in the final of the four events.

Saturday July 24:

Sunday July 25:

Monday July 26:

Wednesday July 28:

Thursday July 29:

Friday July 30:

Saturday July 31:

Sunday August 1:

As is so often the case, the Illawarra will be well-represented in the hockey competitions in Tokyo.

Blake Govers returns for his second Games and he's joined in the Kookaburras by debutant Flynn Ogilvie.

The pair are looking to lead the Australian men to their first Olympic gold since Athens.

Gerringong's Grace Stewart is also back for her second tilt at glory, the Hockeyroos star eager to help the side return to the medals after a disappointing campaign in Rio.

The Australian women's rugby sevens team made history by claiming the first gold on offer in the sport in Rio, however they face a tough task to defend their gold.

New Zealand enter the tournament as favourites after dominating the sport since they fell in the 2016 final.

Wollongong's Emma Tonegato has experienced an injury-interrupted preparation for Tokyo, however she's confident of adding a second gold to her collection.

Thursday July 29:

Friday July 30:

Saturday July 31:

Tokyo has long been the goal for Helensburgh's Saya Sakakibara, the BMX racer living in Japan for six years as a child.

Adding to the emotions for the 21-year-old is the fact older brother Kai will not be competing in Tokyo after he suffered life-threatening injuries in a crash last year.

Prior to the pandemic, Saya showed she could match it with the world's best and she's determined to do so again in her Olympics debut.

Thursday July 29:

Friday July 30:

One of five new sports in Tokyo, skateboarding has attracted a diverse range of athletes for its Games debut.

Minnamurra teenager Kieran Woolley will look to topple his older rivals, the 17-year-old eager to claim a medal in the skateboard park event.

Thursday August 5:

Berry product Shane Rose is back for his third Olympic Games, the 48-year-old looking to add gold to the silver and bronze won in Beijing and Rio.

Rose will line up in the eventing competition in an Australian team featuring Sydney 2000 champions Andrew Hoy and Stuart Tinney.

Friday July 30:

Saturday July 31:

Sunday August 1:

Monday August 2:

The Illawarra will be well-represented in both the men's and women's football competitions, Caitlin Foord to play at her second Games.

The 26-year-old is joined in the Matildas by former Stingray Mary Fowler, the teenage prodigy playing for the club in 2018.

Sydney FC star Joel King and Central Coast Mariners defender Kye Rowles are in the Olyroos squad, with King looking to build on a breakout A-League season that saw him win Young Footballer of the Year.

The players are among the first Australians to compete in Tokyo, the Matildas opening their campaign on Wednesday and the Olyroos on Thursday.

Shellharbour's Ellen Perez has been rewarded for a series of consistent results on the WTA circuit this year with selection in the Australian tennis team.

The 25-year-old will team up with grand slam winner Sam Stosur in the women's doubles competition.

Tokyo marks Stosur's fifth Games, the veteran still seeking her first medal.

The tennis schedule will be confirmed on a day-by-day basis, with the women's doubles set to commence on Saturday July 24.

Perez and Stosur will take on Latvian pair Jelena Ostapenko and Anastasija Sevastova in their opening round clash in the fourth match on court six on Sunday July 25.

The draft finals program is as follows:

An elite middle-distance runner, Sally Fitzgibbons dreamt of competing at the Olympics as a child.

The Gerroa talent thought that dream was over when she chose to pursue surfing over athletics, however that suddenly changed when the sport was added to the Tokyo program.

Competing in the biggest sporting event in the world, Fitzgibbons is determined to claim the first surfing gold medal on offer.

Owen Wright's path to Japan has been less straightforward, the 31-year-old suffering a traumatic brain injury after a wipeout in 2015.

After learning how to walk again, the surfer eventually returned to the world tour.

While sister Tyler has made headlines through two world titles, the Olympics represent an opportunity for the Culburra surfer to etch his name into history.

The surfing competition is slated to be held between Sunday July 25 and Wednesday July 28, however the exact program will be determined by weather conditions.

Organisers have until Sunday August 1 to complete the competition.

The draft timetable is below.

Sunday July 25, from 8am:

Monday July 26, from 8am:

Tuesday July 27, from 8am:

Wednesday July 28: