Here are six Qld Commonwealth Games medal wildcards – plus three mates
All six of these young Queensland athletes, who will be medal bolters when the Commonwealth Games start on Friday, have overcome adversity at some stage. We take a look at this new batch of elite sporting rookie – and three of their mates.
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Meet six young Queensland athletes who will be medal bolters when the Birmingham Commonwealth Games start on Thursday (Friday, Queensland time).
All have overcome adversity at some stage, young Queenslanders who will do Australia proud at the Games.
Last year we were the first to predict Olympic Games medal success for little known Queensland rookies like swimmers Mollie O’Callaghan, Meg Harris, Tom Neill, rower Caitlin Cronin and athlete Ashley Moloney (decathlete).
And now a new batch of elite sporting rookie has emerged.
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Liz Dekkers (swimming)
It is one of the great redemption stories, how butterfly teen queen Liz Dekkers misfired at last year’s Olympic trials, only to nail her chance and make the Commonwealth Games team.
Twelve months ago the then All Hallows’ School student missed the 200m butterfly start and panicked, losing her stroke and failing to qualify for the Tokyo Games despite having achieved the qualifying time previously.
“It means so much after such a hard and difficult year to put the race together that I felt like I should have produced last year,’’ the Newmarket Racers Swim Club rookie said. “I had confidence in myself to swim that race and it was so relieving.’’
Dekkers, 18, made the 200m butterfly final at last month’s world championship and a podium finish would not floor anyone in Birmingham.
Lidiia Iakovleva (rhythmic gymnastics)
She was a 2020 Olympic Games selection bolter but 12 months later bayside rhythmic gymnast Lidiia Iakovleva is in the hunt a Commonwealth Games medal.
Iakovleva, 18, with her coach-mother Iuliia alongside her, will compete at the Games after the surreal experience of becoming a Tokyo Olympian.
“Having done the Olympics, it gives you a boost of confidence,’’ said Iakovleva.
“We have a chance to get some medals (Commonwealth Games) and that is one of my goals that I am working towards.
“The Olympics gave me a new perspective on life and gymnastics and I have learned a lot.’’
Cassiel Rousseau (diving)
Rousseau is a Mr Natural of diving striving for a Commonwealth Games podium finish after a superlative eighth placing in his first Olympics during 10m competition in 2021.
Rousseau, 21, has only been at the sport for five years after being reluctantly dragged to the Chandler Aquatic Centre for a school holiday diving camp as a teenager.
And while it was love at first dive for the Ormiston resident, it took some work to get him to the edge of the diving board.
An elite childhood acrobat, Rousseau nervously dived off the 5m and 7.5m boards, before progressing to 10m. “After the 10m I thought ‘I never want to do this’. It is really scary. But then it was really fun,’’ he said.
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Sam Short (swimming)
Short, 17, is a young swimming lion with a huge heart and a desire to surpass his PB times in both the 400m and 1500m freestyle in Birmingham.
As a child the 2021 Prince of Peace Lutheran College school captain stalked the junior times of greats like Mac Horton, Grant Hackett and Keiran Perkins. and now finds himself in the big league.
And while he did claim a 4x200m relay silver medal at the recent world titles, watch for him to make a move in his individual swims.
The world titles did not go to plan for him after a health scare when he was diagnosed with a stage 2 melanoma on his back prior to the meet.
But the 2022 Maroochydore’s SLSC national championship winner (under-19 Taplin relay) is fully fit and focused for his Games’ debut.
Ky Robinson (track and field)
Few at his old school of Churchie would be shocked to see old boy Ky Robinson’ progress into his first Games’ team.
Simply, Robinson has always been a beast of a middle distance athlete with a huge motor.
As a junior Robinson was an unstoppable force in endurance events.
For example he produced historic record-breaking performances in the 1500 and 3000m events at the 2019 GPS Track and Field Championships, and also broke the state steeplechase record in the same year.
He was always destined for the brightest of lights and now finds himself on the world stage where he will compete in the 5000m and 10,000m.
Emily Boyd (diving)
Aussie 10m medal prospect Boyd will make her Commonwealth Games debut aged 25 – 11 years after being rejected by Diving Australia for their national talent identification squad.
As a schoolgirl the past student of Carmel College and St Rita’s Primary School got a “thanks for trying but next time’’ letter which, to this day, she retained as a motivational message.
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And Boyd, having become a stronger person and an athlete from those setbacks, will fulfil a lifelong dream of representing Australia at the Commonwealth Games.
An elite junior gymnast, Boyd originally found landing head first as opposed to feet first unnatural, but she proved a diving natural talent culminating in hard earned Aussie Games’ selection.
And don’t forget … in the pool watch this trio – Jenna Forrester (400m individual medley), Bronte Job (50m backstroke) and Ella Ramsay (200m individual medley).
Forrester is from the St Peters Western Swim Club and has the heart of a lioness.
She has been a schoolgirl prodigy and his time to shine has arrived.
Job, an All Hallows’ School alumni from Damien Jones’ Rackley Centenary Swim Club, is a backstroke dasher who was on the same Australian world championship team as Dekkers, Mollie O’Callaghan and Olympic bronze medallist Tom Neill.
Ramsay (St Peters Lutheran College Springfield) is the baby of the squad, the daughter of Sydney Olympian Heath who would have benefited from valuable race experience at the world championships.
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