Let the Games begin… the 2022 Commonwealth Games get underway on Friday 29 July and our South Australian Sports Institute athletes are ready to be BOLD IN GOLD!

Within the Australian team, 34 of the athletes selected are current SASI scholarship holders or graduates, who have been supported by our funding programs, elite performance services and daily training environments.

And it’s not just the athletes who have booked a ticket to Birmingham, with SASI based staff selected to support the Australian swimming, cycling, diving and beach volleyball teams.

Don’t miss our SASI athletes in action at the Games. Here is a snapshot of who to watch out for:

Athletics

Jess Stenson leads the SASI contingent with her experience where she’s set to compete at her third Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The marathon runner has been a consistent outstanding performer at the Games, coming home with bronze medals from Glasgow and the Gold Coast.

Izzi Batt-Doyle will make her Commonwealth Games debut competing in the 10,000m event. It’s been a big 12 months for Batt-Doyle who competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and placed third at the Zatopek 10000m.

SASI graduate Kurtis Marschall will be competing in the pole vault event and he’ll be aiming to replicate his performance at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games where he won a gold medal.

Beach Volleyball

Chris McHugh returns to defend the gold medal he won for Australia at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018! He'll be teaming up with Paul Burnett who is set to make his Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham.

Cycling - Road and Track

SASI will have a total of 11 athletes (current scholars and graduates) who will join the Australian cycling team in Birmingham.

Mathew Glaetzer and Rohan Dennis lead the team with their experience, both competing in their third Commonwealth Games.

Glaetzer is aiming for a hat-trick of Commonwealth Games gold medals in the Keirin after success at Glasgow in 2014 and the Gold Coast four years ago. The 29-year-old sprinter, who has overcome thyroid cancer to return to international racing, also won the one-kilometre time trial on the Gold Coast and will be hoping to replicate this again.

Dennis made his first appearance at the Games in Delhi in 2010 and then went on to compete in Glasgow where he won silver in the Individual Time Trial. In Birmingham, he’ll once again compete in the Individual Time Trial along with the Road Race.

Going up against Dennis in the Road Race will be fellow SASI graduate Miles Scotson. Scotson will feature in his second Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, after competing on the track on the Gold Coast four years ago.

Alexandra Manly has been selected to be part of the Australian women’s road team after debuting on the Gold Coast four years ago on the track and taking gold in the women’s team pursuit.

On the boards of the velodrome, emerging star Maeve Plouffe is becoming a force. The 22-year-old has been in superb form this season and recently won a gold medal at the UCI Track Nations Cup in Canada.

Breanna Hargrave will make her second Commonwealth Games appearance in 2022; her first was eight years ago in Glasgow where she won two bronze medals as a pilot for Brandie O’Connor in the para-track events. This time around she’ll be looking to make an impact in the 500m Time Trial, Keirin, Sprint and Team Sprint events. She was a late starter to the sport, taking it up when she was 28-years-old after previously competing in athletics.

Chloe Moran has enjoyed a rapid rise in the Australian track squad ahead of her first Commonwealth Games appearance, after claiming two national titles in 2021 and a brace of Oceania crowns this year, including the points race. She’ll hit the boards for the 4000m Team Pursuit and 10km Scratch Race. Growing up playing hockey and participating in surf lifesaving, Chloe is a graduate of the SASI Talent Identification Program.

Sophie Edwards was elevated to the Australian endurance squad this year in time for her first Commonwealth Games. Sophie was another elite cyclist picked up by the SASI Talent Identification Program. You can catch her in action in the 3000m Individual Pursuit, 4000m Team Pursuit and 10km Scratch Race.

Leigh Hoffman is heading into his first Games in winning form after claiming Australia’s first-ever Men’s Team Sprint gold in the restructured UCI Track Nations Cup. He’ll also ride in the Team Sprint event in Birmingham.

Beau Wootton has also been selected for his first Commonwealth Games. Born with the genetic condition optic atrophy that interferes with messages from the eye to the brain, Beau will compete in the para-cycling sprint and time trial events. The 23-year-old was named as part of the Para-cycling group for AusCycling Podium Potential Academy in early 2022 and won gold in the tandem time trial and silver in the sprint at this year’s track nationals.

Caitlin Ward will act as a pilot for Jessica Gallagher in the para-cycling sprint and time trial events in Birmingham, and last represented Australia at the 2019 UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Brisbane.

Diving

Nikita Hains has always dreamed of wearing green and gold and now she'll be representing Australia in the Women’s 10m Platform, Women’s 10m Synchronised and Mixed 10m Synchronised. Hains is one of seven Aussies divers who will make their debut at the Commonwealth Games. The SASI athlete has seen many corners of the globe in the past year having competed at the Tokyo Olympics and FINA World Championships in Budapest.

As the oldest diving squad member, Shixin Li will bring his experience to the Men's 10m Individual, Men's 3m Individual, Men's 3m Synchronised and Mixed 3m Synchronised. He achieved a huge personal goal making it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and recently claimed bronze in the Men’s 1m Springboard at the FINA World Championships.

Gymnastics

Gymnasts Clay Stephens and Jesse Moore will be donning the green and gold for their Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham. They’ll both compete in the Men’s Artistic category. The SASI IAP athletes recently had a very successful outing at the Australian Championships with Moore and Stephens claiming gold and silver respectively in the All Around Senior International event.

Hockey

After winning gold on the Gold Coast in 2018, SASI graduate Tom Wickham has been selected to join the men's hockey team in Birmingham. The Kookaburras will be looking to continue their winning form, having won gold in every Commonwealth Games since hockey was introduced to the competition in 1998.

SASI graduate Jane Claxton will bring her winning experience to the Hockeyroos when she competes in her third Commonwealth Games. The 29-year-old recently celebrated her 200^th international cap and will be looking to achieve another milestone by winning her second Commonwealth Games gold medal after success at Glasgow in 2014.

Netball

SASI graduate Sarah Klau will join a rebuilt Australian Diamonds team looking to reclaim top spot on the podium in Birmingham. The two-time NSW Swifts premiership player is one of 12 netballers hoping to add their own chapter to the Diamonds’ golden history at the Commonwealth Games.

Para-Table Tennis

Amanda Tscharke will make her Commonwealth Games debut when she competes in Birmingham in the Para-table tennis competition. The mother of two will represent Australia in the Classes 3-5 Women’s Wheelchair event.

Squash

Alexandra Haydon is going to Birmingham, bringing her excitement and enthusiasm to the eight-member Australian squash team. The SASI IAP athlete will make her Games debut in the women's doubles following a blistering start to the year where she won gold at the Australian Open Doubles and Gold Coast Open PSA.

Swimming

SASI swimming superstar Kyle Chalmers is among Australian swimming royalty who will spearhead an outstanding Australian Dolphins team chosen to further enhance Australia’s golden legacy in the pool. He has an impressive history at the Games, claiming four gold and one silver on the Gold Coast. The 23-year-old will be looking to add to his collection when he competes in the 100m Freestyle, 100m Butterfly, 50m Butterfly, Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay, Men's 4x100m Medley Relay and Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay.

After last competing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, Madi Wilson makes her long awaited return to the Games in Birmingham. The Tokyo Olympic gold medallist has been going from strength to strength and is set to make a splash in the 200m Freestyle and Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay.

Also bringing their experience to the Dolphins will be Zac Incerti, making his second Commonwealth Games appearance after bringing home a gold and bronze medal from the Gold Coast Games. He’ll be swimming in the 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay and Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay.

Commonwealth Games debutants Meg Harris and Matthew Temple round out SASI’s representation on the able-bodied team.

Harris already has a taste for gold having won the 50m Freestyle event at the Commonwealth Youth Games. She’ll be competing in the 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle and Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay in Birmingham.

Temple will hit the pool in the 100m Butterfly, 50m Butterfly, Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay and Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay.

Para-swimmer Izzy Vincent is the youngest member of SASI’s Birmingham squad at just 16 years of age! She’ll make her Commonwealth Games debut in the 100m Backstroke S8 and 100m Breaststroke SB6 events, looking to add to the medal success she had at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Triathlon

SASI IAP athlete Sophie Linn takes on swimming, cycling, and running in the triathlon at the Commonwealth Games. The former elite swimmer and USA college track runner was an automatic qualifier for the Games – an incredible feat after partially tearing her Achilles tendon at the start of last year’s triathlon season.

Weightlifting

Kiana Elliott was among the first Australian team members to be officially announced for this year’s Commonwealth Games. The SASI IAP athlete started out her sports career in gymnastics before she turned to weightlifting. She'll be making her Commonwealth Games debut competing in the 71kg class.

Good luck to all South Australian athletes competing at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022. Go for gold!

To follow our SA team at the Games, including their schedules and results, visit: www.sasi.sa.gov.au/about_us/birmingham-commonwealth-games