The South Australian sports stars making their Commonwealth Games debut
The 2022 Commonwealth Games are right around the corner and a bunch of South Aussie talent will be making their debuts in Birmingham. See the full list of local first-timers.
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The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games begin next Thursday and Australia looks set to yet again place among the top countries for medal count, with a bunch of star talent primed and ready to go in England.
Dozens of South Australian athletes will compete for the Green and Gold this year, and many of those will be making their Commonwealth Games debuts.
One of those stars is 19-year-old artistic gymnast Jesse Moore, who trains as part of Gymnastics South Australia’s high performance program.
Moore took up gymnastics at the age of three, and has since dreamt of representing his country in the Commonwealth Games.
He now has the opportunity to live that dream after finishing first of the ‘all-round’ competitors at this year’s national titles.
“I was so stoked to find out that I had made the team,” Moore said.
“Competing in the Commonwealth Games has been one of my major goals since I started.
“It still feels surreal to be competing – the Commonwealth Games are one of the benchmark events in gymnastics along with the Olympics so it’s fantastic to get here.”
Nineteen South Australians will be joining Moore in their first ever Commonwealth Games.
From certified superstars and breakout young guns, to late bloomers, here are the 20 homegrown athletes making their Commonwealth Games debuts in alphabetical order.
ALEX WILSON
(3x3 Basketball)
Wilson is a dual WNBL champion with the Townsville Fire and Sydney Uni Flames, and currently a star player for the Adelaide Lightning and Norwood Flames (NBL1).
The gifted point guard’s selection to Australia’s women’s 3x3 basketball team comes as no surprise and her Commonwealth Games debut comes after previous successful campaigns with Australia at FIBA World Championship level.
AMANDA JADE-WELLINGTON
(Cricket)
Women’s cricket will be held at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the sport’s first inclusion since a men’s tournament in 1998, and Jade-Wellington’s selection was almost a given.
The 25-year-old leg spinner – who played for the Port Adelaide District Cricket Club and also represents the SA Scorpions and Adelaide Strikers – made her SA debut at the age of 15, becoming the youngest ever to do so.
She has also competed for Australia in all three forms of the game.
AMANDA TSCHARKE
(Table Tennis)
Tscharke was only 16 years old when she was left a paraplegic after a horrific motorcycle accident dislocated her spine, but the 40-year-old from the Barossa has remarkably made a big name for herself in para-sport.
A member of the Woodville Table Tennis Club, Tscharke has had a successful career for Australia so far including a silver medal in the 2015 Oceania titles and a gold in the teams event at the 2019 Arafura Games.
Tscharke has undergone a number of surgeries and suffered various other complications throughout her career, but that has not stopped her achieving a well-deserved Commonwealth Games debut in 2022.
BEAU WOOTTON
(Cycling)
Another outstanding para-athlete, Wootton was born with optic atrophy, which impacts the messages the eyes receive from the brain – leaving him legally blind.
Inspired and mentored by late Australian Paralympic legend Kieran Modra, the 23-year-old has achieved significant success in tandem cycling.
He won gold in the 2020 national road cycling men’s tandem event and silver in the sprint at this year’s nationals.
He will now test himself against the best in the Commonwealth.
CALLUM PETERS
(Boxing)
Peters is the youngest member of Australia’s boxing team for the Birmingham games and will compete in the middleweight division.
The 19-year-old rising star is coached by his father, Brad, at Kapunda’s North Central Boxing Club and has fought over 50 amateur fights.
He was named the Australian Youth Champion in 2019 and has won multiple state boxing titles.
CHLOE MORAN
(Cycling)
A member of the Central Districts Cycling Club and the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI), Moran has experienced a dramatic rise to the top in the last year.
The 23-year-old won two national track titles in 2021 and two Oceania titles earlier this year.
She looks set to add a Commonwealth Games medal to her resume.
CHRIS FLAVEL
(Lawn Bowls)
Flavel has facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy – a genetic disorder which can lead to progressive degeneration of the face, upper arm muscles and shoulder blades.
This has not stopped him dominating lawn bowls in Australia however, the 38-year-old former Payneham and current Lockleys champion achieving success against able-bodied players in the SA Premier League and winning multiple national titles including gold in the men’s singles at the 2015 Australian multi-disability championships.
After just missing out on the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Flavel will make his debut in the para-men’s pairs with teammate Damien Delgado.
CLAY STEPHENS
(Gymnastics)
Stephens was born with one pectoral muscle but has still managed to make a name for himself in Gymnastics.
Beginning his gymnastics journey 20 years ago, the 25-year-old star from Largs Bay and ‘GYM-JETS’ at the Gymnastics SA high performance centre has achieved multiple successes for Australia.
Stephens has represented Australia in the vault event at the Youth Olympics and world cups, and has performed at a high level for SA in national events.
After suffering multiple ACL injuries in recent years, Stephens has made a remarkable recovery to achieve his Commonwealth Games debut.
DARCIE BROWN
(Cricket)
The teenage sensation from Kapunda has experienced a quick rise to the top of the women’s game and now adds competing in the Commonwealth Games to her list of achievements.
At 19 years old, Brown is one of the fastest bowlers in the women’s game.
The former Henley High School and Adelaide Crows AFL Academy member has dominated cricket since signing for the Adelaide Strikers in 2019.
She made her first appearance for Australia in 2021 and was a key part of the squad which won the Women’s World Cup this year.
EDGARDO COUMI
(Boxing)
Coumi will compete in the heavyweight class for Australia in the Commonwealth Games after a successful 2021 and 2022.
The 26-year-old Para Hills Boxing Club product backed up a strong 2021 by taking gold in this year’s nationals and subsequently booking his spot in the Games.
He will be Australia’s only chance at heavyweight gold.
ISABELLA VINCENT
(Swimming)
Vincent is one of Australia’s most promising young athletes and has seen her career take off through the last two years.
Born with sacral agenesis regression syndrome affecting the development of her lower spine, the Norwood Swimming Club member has become a dominant para-swimmer, recently competing as the youngest athlete of the Australian Tokyo Paralympics team and winning two medals in four events.
At just 16 she will be the youngest member of the para-swimming team at the Commonwealth Games and will make her debut competing in the 100-metre backstroke S7.
IZZI BATT-DOYLE
(Athletics)
Flinders Athletics Club champion Batt-Doyle continues to dominate as a distance runner for Australia.
The 26-year-old finished 15th in the 5,000-metre race at the Tokyo Olympics and will compete in the 10,000-metre at the Commonwealth Games after achieving a personal best time of 31 mins and 40 seconds at the British Championships earlier this year.
JESSE MOORE
(Gymnastics)
Moore was recently selected to make his Commonwealth Games debut after a sensational national championships showing in the Gold Coast in May.
The 19-year-old artistic gymnast dominated at the titles, finishing first in the ‘all-round’ (every event) and will also be competing in every event in Birmingham.
It will be Moore’s first international senior competition, but with a successful career for Australia in juniors, the teenager could be a strong chance for a medal.
KIANA ELLIOTT
(Weightlifting)
A member of Adelaide’s Triumph Weightlifting Club, Elliott is coming off a strong showing at her debut Olympics in Tokyo, finishing 11th in the 64kg section.
The 24-year-old is in hot form heading into the Commonwealth Games, achieving personal bests in clean and jerk (120kg), and snatch (100kg) at the Singapore International in February of this year.
LAUREN MANSFIELD
(3x3 Basketball)
A former Adelaide Lightning WNBL star and current player with the Perth Lynx, Mansfield – originally from Elizabeth Vale – will join Alex Wilson in the 3x3 basketball event.
The talented guard has recently represented Australia in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.
MAEVE PLOUFFE
(Cycling)
One of the Port Adelaide Cycling Club’s many star prospects, Plouffe is coming off a highly successful 2021 and 2022 season.
Plouffe became a force in the sport once she made her debut for Australia in the 2019 world cup and eventually won her way into the Tokyo Olympics during which she finished fifth with the team pursuit squad.
Plouffe looks set to achieve more success at her debut Commonwealth Games.
MEGAN SCHUTT
(Cricket)
Schutt is a household name in women’s cricket and a mainstay in Australia’s bowling attack.
The 29-year-old right-arm medium pacer came up through the Sturt District Cricket Club and SA state sides, eventually making her international debut in the 2012 World Cup and finishing as the leading wicket-taker.
She also became the second-fastest woman to 100 one-day wickets in 2021 behind Ellyse Perry.
SARAH KLAU
(Netball)
One of the best defensive players in Australian netball, Klau will compete in this year’s Commonwealth Games after missing out in 2018.
The former Immanuel College student and Adelaide Thunderbirds player joined the New South Wales Swifts in the Suncorp Super Netball league in the 2017 season and has not looked back since.
The 27-year-old can play both GK and GD and is a standout defender for Australia.
SOPHIE EDWARDS
(Cycling)
A member of the Adelaide University Cycling Club, Edwards was selected for the Australian endurance squad for the first time in her career this year and will now take part in her first Commonwealth Games.
The 22-year-old is in strong form, finishing fifth in the second stage of this year’s Tour Down Under in Echunga.
SOPHIE LINN
(Triathlon)
Linn only started her triathlon career in 2018 after a strong junior swimming career and years of long-distance running.
A fast improver in the sport, Linn’s surprise Oceania Triathlon Cup victory in the Gold Coast last April earned her an automatic nomination to her first ever Commonwealth Games.
TAHLIA MCGRATH
(Cricket)
A talented all-rounder, McGrath played all nine matches of Australia’s winning one-day World Cup campaign this year and heads to Birmingham as a star of the national lineup.
The 26-year-old started her career at the West Torrens District Cricket Club and has made 665 runs and taken 25 wickets for Australia across the game’s three formats.
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