With less than 30 days to go until the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Team Australia is taking shape with the Illawarra Academy of Sport once again strongly represented. The IAS has 10 athletes set to take part in the 21st edition of the Games, one more than at Glasgow in 2014.
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The 2017 IAS Athletes With A Disability Program Athlete of the Year, Jasmine Greenwood, will make her Games debut and be the youngest representative on the Swim Team at 13 years of age. Greenwood’s selection caps off an outstanding 12 months which saw her swim at the 2017 IPC World Swimming Championships in Mexico as a 12-year-old.
On the other end of the age scale will be fellow IAS Graduate lawn bowler Karen Murphy who will represent at her 5th Games at 43 years of age.
Murphy will be chasing her 5th medal having claimed gold in 2006 and silver in 1998, 2002 and 2014.
This year will be the fifth time the Games have been held in Australia, which is extra special for siblings Emma and David McKeon who follow in their parents’ footsteps, representing at a home Games, with their parents Suzie and Ron representing at the 1982 Brisbane Games.
Athletics stars Ryan Gregson and Madeline Hills (nee Heiner) will compete in their second Commonwealth Games after both representing in 2014. Hills will compete in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres and Gregson in his favoured 1500 metres.
The IAS will once again have strong representation in hockey with Blake Govers, Flynn Ogilvie, Tristan White and Grace Stewart named in the extended squads. Govers and Stewart will make their Games debut and will be able to draw on the experience of Ogilvie and White, who both competed in 2014, should they be named in the final squads.
The Illawarra Academy of Sport has produced 15 Olympians (17 medals), 20 Commonwealth Games representatives (25 medals), 11 world champions and 75 senior national team representatives over the past three decades.
