10 WA Headlines to Look Out for During #GC2018

With the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games fast approaching, we’ve put together 10 WA headlines that you might be reading through April.

Australia will boast a total team size of 473 athletes on the Gold Coast, with 20 core sports comprising a wide range of disciplines and events.

With WA sending athletes across 10 of those sports, here are few potential highlights to keep an eye out for.

Meyer Masterclass

When it comes to track cycling, few athletes command the reverence of Cameron Meyer. Earlier this year, Meyer won a ninth career track world championship title and on the Gold Coast, he is a red-hot chance to again standout as one of Australia’s big success stories.

Whilst being a vital cog in Australia’s team pursuit squad, it’s without question the points race that Meyer has truly made his own. He is an artisan of the 40km endurance spectacle, having won five career rainbow jerseys in his pet event.

His ability to regularly collect interval sprint points, steal laps on the field (despite being a permanently marked-rider) and his razor-sharp ability to keep tabs on his own, and rivals’ points tallies, make him a feared competitor in the 160-lap bunch-race.

His last venture at Commonwealth-level was at the Delhi Games back in 2010. At those championships, Meyer came away with three gold medals, completed across the team pursuit, scratch race and points race.

At the Gold Coast Games, you’ll need to pencil in Thursday April 5 (Team Pursuit) and Sunday April 8 (40km Points Race) as the three-time WAIS Athlete of the Year looks to add further gloss to an already brilliant career.

Parker’s Pound for Pound Prowess

Caitlin Parker’s, is a star very much on the rise. The Gosnells raised pugilist is set to take on the women’s 75kg class on the Gold Coast and good judges believe she has podium potential.

At 21, Parker will represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games for the first time, having previously evidenced her wares with medals at Youth World Championship and Youth Olympic level.

As a former scholarship recipient through the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, Parker received mentoring from cricket great Adam Gilchrist, whilst local boxing champion Danny Green is another local sporting star to have kept a keen eye on her progress.

Boxing was only introduced for female athletes at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, with Aussie Shelley Watts winning the country’s first gold medal in the lightweight category. Over history, England has dominated the medals, winning 54 gold across men’s and women’s classifications, with Australia fourth on 15 behind Canada (25) and Scotland (17).

Boxing preliminaries commence on Thursday April 5, with the medals fought and won on Saturday April 14.

Kookaburras Extend Commonwealth Dominance

The Australian men’s hockey team has never failed to win gold at the Commonwealth Games, with their dominance extending back to the Kuala Lumpur Games in 1998.

Having featured in all five gold medal play-offs, the Kookaburras boast an incredible 24-2 for and against goals ratio, with only New Zealand – in a 5-2 defeat in Manchester 2002 – able to breach the Australian defensive rear-guard.

Four Western Australians will fight to maintain green and gold dominance on the Gold Coast, with Jake Harvie, Tyler Lovell, Trent Mitton and Aran Zalewski all set to help the team push for a sixth consecutive crown.

The Aussies face South Africa, Scotland, Canada and New Zealand in Pool A, with England and India likely to provide the sternest test from Pool B.

The hockey medal rounds will be contested from the Gold Coast Hockey Centre on Saturday April 14.

Back to the Future for the Boy from Broome

Gold Coast stands as a potential dream Commonwealth Games debut for backstroke talent Zac Incerti.

Having moved from Broome to Perth in 2014, Incerti has steadily transformed himself in the years since into a top level talent within Australian swimming, evidenced by his first national title win in the men’s 50m backstroke at this month’s Swimming Trials.

Incerti made his debut for the Dolphins at last year’s World titles in Budapest but it’s on the Gold Coast that the 21 year-old could make the next big leap, with the UWA-West Coast clubman likely to enter the 50m backstroke as the top-seeded athlete.

Make sure you’re near a screen on the evening of Sunday April 8 as Incerti swims for a spot on the Commonwealth Games honour roll.

Keeney’s Triple Treat

As the reigning women’s 1m springboard world champion and a bronze medallist in the 3m synchro from the Rio Olympic Games, WA diver Maddison Kenney could become a sensation at a home Commonwealth Games.

Now living and training in Brisbane at the National High Performance Centre, Keeney has become one of the country’s finest springboard talents.

She won silver in 1m and bronze in the 3m synchro on her Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow four years ago, but with an appearance also expected in the 3m springboard, there is a good chance that Keeney could podium across three events at her second Games. She is a red-hot favourite for gold in her speciality 1m event.

Keeney’s first shot at gold will come in the 3m synchro final, which is being contested on Wednesday April 11. The women’s 1m springboard follows on Friday April 13, with the 3m final held on Saturday April 14.

World Record Pursuit

There is very little secret that Australia boasts a world-class team pursuit squad. They were world champion in 2017, but chose not to defend the title at this year’s track world championships in the Netherlands, preferring to focus their attention on April’s Commonwealth Games.

Sam Welsford and Cameron Meyer are both pivotal members of the TP squad, with Welsford regarded as one of the very best team pursuiters on the planet.

There is a view that if conditions support, the world record could be in play during the men’s team pursuit final. Great Britain famously claimed the world record in defeating Australia for gold at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, in a ride-off that saw Welsford win an Olympic silver medal on debut.

With the Commonwealth Games separating Great Britain into its individual countries, it is likely that it will be England that seeks to thwart Australia from claiming gold on the Gold Coast. Either way, it is quite possible that a time-underneath GB’s world record of 3:50.265mins will be required for victory.

The men’s team pursuit final will be contested on the opening night of the Commonwealth Games, on Thursday April 5. (note: Sam Welsford is also in contention to ride the individual pursuit and scratch race)

Bassett and Bruce Boss the Boards

With netball played almost exclusively within Commonwealth nations, the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games ranks equal with the prestige of winning its World Cup.

Over history, Australia and New Zealand have played-off in gold medal matches that have defined one of the greatest rivalries in sport between the two nations.

The emergence of England as a netball force, on top of strong campaigns expected from Jamaica and South Africa point to this year’s netball medal as being the most competitive in the sport’s history.

There can be no denying however, that Australia are the favourites for gold. Via the Western Australian figures of captain Caitlin Bassett and debutant Courtney Bruce, the Diamonds boast arguably the best bookends in world netball. If Australia are to win gold, it’ll be heavily influenced on the performances of WA’s two representatives.

Bassett is expected to break a series of goal-scoring records for Australia before her international career is done, whilst Bruce’s rise to the top has been underpinned by excellent club form for the West Coast Fever that saw her displace Sharni Layton in Australia’s defence circle for the Commonwealth Games.

Expect to see the old-foes of Australia and New Zealand face-off for gold on Sunday April 15.

Downie Doubles-Down

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that WA swimmer Kat Downie enjoys the big stage. From winning gold on her Paralympic debut in London, to collecting silver in a then personal best time on her Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow.

Downie will once again compete in the women’s SM10 200m Individual Medley and it’s once more thought that the City of Perth swimmer can threaten the podium.

She booked her berth for the Games at this month’s Selection Trials after winning the final in a time of 2:33.46mins.

At 22, Downie has now medalled at every major competition level. On the Gold Coast, don’t discount her collecting a second career medal at Commonwealth Games level.

Downie will swim the final of the SM10 200m Individual Medley on Saturday April 7.

Podium Poles

Potentially, one of the great stories of triumph at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, will be witnessed if pole vaulter Nina Kennedy can launch her way onto the podium.

A former junior world record holder, Kennedy saw her career flagging in 2017 when injury forced her to withdraw from the world titles in London and culminated in the 20 year-old grappling with whether she still saw a future in the sport.

Her decision to stick at it, has been vindicated by a career best summer that has launched her to a series of new personal bests, which now stands at world-class height of 4.71m.

Kennedy jumped 4.60m to win her first national title in the same stadium that will host her Commonwealth Games debut. A jump at the same height in the women’s final would place her firmly in the mix for medals and if she could threaten her personal best, it could just be enough for gold.

Kennedy will be joined by Liz Parnov in the women’s field – with their final taking place on the evening of Friday April 13. Keep an eye out in the men’s final for WA representative Declan Carruthers, who will compete on Thursday April 12.

The Master’s Apprentice

Louise Sauvage is one of the greatest Paralympic athletes that Australia has ever produced. As a nine-time Paralympic champion, hers is an enduring legacy.

Yet in 2018, it is one of the athletes that she now coaches who is set to take main-stage with WA’s Madison de Rozario certain to add some star power to the para-athletics events.

De Rozario will enter the T54 1500m wheelchair race as the top-ranked competitor and without question, is the athlete to beat for gold. Should she take line honours, don’t be surprised if it’s accompanied by a new Commonwealth Games and a new Australian record.

The popular 24 year-old will also compete on the last day of the Commonwealth Games schedule in the T54 marathon, which will take place around the Southport Broadwater Parklands. De Rozario has only contested a small number of marathons, but given her rate of improvement, another podium finish could beckon.

The T54 1500m final will be raced on Tuesday April 10 with the T54 marathon on Sunday April 15.