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Steering clear of the major sports, there is plenty to see at the Commonwealth Games, and Australia’s overall medal tally and final position on the table will be defined by athletes competing in a multitude of different sports.
So if we avoid team sports, athletics, swimming and cycling, who are our best medal chances at the Games?
More Commonwealth Games
» About the Commonwealth Games
» Full 2018 Commonwealth Games events schedule
» How to watch the 2018 Commonwealth Games online or on TV
Deborah Acason (women’s weightlifting)
Acason is moving into her fifth Commonwealth Games and has medalled on three occasions, including a gold in Melbourne. While her last medal was in 2010, she is a veteran of the team and still performs consistently well on the international stage.
Incredibly, it’s not just weightlifting Acason has been known for. She has represented Australia in juniors for both discus and hammer throw, won track cycling medals and made the Australian women’s rugby union training squad.
Jack Bowen (men’s boxing)
Featuring in the 56kg division, Bowen has been earmarked as one of the best up-and-coming boxers in Australia. He won gold at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games, but given the reason he took up boxing was to “stay fit between footy seasons”, it’s an amazing story.
While the 19-year-old is a little smaller in stature, this could be his chance to break out.
David Chapman (men’s pistol shooting)
Chapman won gold in the 25 metres rapid pistol at the 2014 Games and is one of Australia’s most experienced shooters, aiming up for his fourth Games after making his debut in Melbourne. Adding to his gold medal, he won a silver medal in 2010 and a bronze on debut.
While he never had a great deal of success at the Olympic Games, he has been a staple of Australian shooting teams and has stated he believes he can do exactly what he did in Glasgow.
(AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)
Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar (women’s beach volleyball)
Clancy and del Solar joined forces in October 2017 and have since won two events on the international volleyball federation (FIVB) world tour, dominating in both Qinzhou and Sydney before taking the respective gold medals without dropping a match.
While the combination is relatively fresh, they have barely been challenged, and without some of the more powerful nations at the Commonwealth Games, they will be heavy favourites.
Ashleigh Gentle (women’s triathlon)
After being part of both the 2014 Commonwealth and 2016 Olympic Games squads for Australia, Gentle made her big breakthrough last year, taking second place at the world championships.
It follows a series of promising results, including a pair of second-place finishes in the world series during 2016 as well as three straight victories in the Noosa triathlon.
Joseph Goodall (men’s boxing)
The heavyweight boxer switched from AFL to boxing in 2009 and hasn’t looked back. He placed second at the 2014 Glasgow Games and within the next 12 months had won both the Oceania and Australian championships in the 91+ kg category.
While he won the bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships in Hamburg, none of those finishing ahead of him will be on the Gold Coast, putting forward a strong indicator he is a big chance at a medal, if not the gold.
Anthony Joe (men’s badminton)
At just 21 years of age, Joe is one of the fastest up-and-coming players on the professional badminton circuit.
He will compete in singles at the Commonwealth Games, making his debut after winning his first singles Oceania championship medal in 2016. That’s to go with other doubles medals, including winning the men’s team championship this year.
While he still has plenty of improvement to do, there is no reason why he couldn’t medal on the Gold Coast based on his improving form line.
Maddison Keeney (women’s diving)
The current world champion in the one-metre springboard, Keeney also has form at the Commonwealth Games after picking up the silver medal at Glasgow in 2014.
She has an Olympic bronze medal to her name as well as another bronze in the world championships and is a red-hot favourite for both the one-metre and three-metre springboard events.
Damon Kelly (men’s weightlifting)
Kelly headlines the men’s weightlifting team for the Games. Lining up for his fourth appearance, he already has three medals to his name, but doesn’t have a gold. The consistency has been outstanding, never missing the top three on the big stage, but the ability to win has still got the better of him thus far.
Lawn bowls team
The Lawn bowls team are all in with a shot of medals, whether playing singles, pairs or fours, both in the able-bodied and para-sport categories.
Reigning world singles champion and possibly the best chance at a medal, Karen Murphy, in her fifth Commonwealth Games, leads the team and is set to be joined by three-time world champion Natasha Scott in the women’s competition.
Barrie Lester will take the reins for the men’s team as Australia’s number one bowler, but he is also joined by Aaron Wilson, who is a two-time world champion.
Chris McHugh and Damien Schumann (men’s beach volleyball)
Like the women’s combination before them, McHugh and Schumann are relatively new in beach volleyball terms, having only formed their pairing after the Rio Olympics. Before that, they were rivals.
While they haven’t had the same level of success as the women on the world tour, they finished fourth in Sydney and picked up the silver medal in Shepparton.
The pair have finished in the top ten in five out of their last eight tournaments and will have high hopes on the Gold Coast.
Gronya Somerville and Setyana Mapasa (women’s badminton – doubles)
The women’s doubles pairing is currently ranked number two in the Commonwealth and is a big chance of winning a medal of some sort in the event on the Gold Coast.
They recently won the Oceania Championship for women’s doubles and have qualified for latter stages at various major tournaments around the world.
Mapasa has also had success in individual competition, while Somverille has nine Oceania Championship medals.
Kaye Scott (women’s boxing)
The 33-year-old who has only been competing at an elite amateur level for seven years is currently ranked number three in the world in the women’s light heavy division.
After failing to medal at the 2014 Games in Glasgow, he picked up a silver medal at the 2016 World Championships and was the number one elite Australian women’s boxer in 2017. With an ever-improving form line and dominance in her Commonwealth Games qualification bouts, she is a genuine chance to medal.
Melissa Wu (women’s diving)
Wu is just 25 years of age but is already one of the veterans of Australia’s Commonwealth Games team, getting ready to participate in her fourth.
She made her debut at just 13 in Melbourne 2006 after beating Olympic medalists Chantelle Newbery and Loudy Tourky in the qualification tournament.
Since then she has been a permanent fixture of Australia’s diving teams at Commonwealth and Olympic Games as well as at the world championships. While her one and only major gold came in the ten-metre synchro platform at the Delhi Games of 2010, she also won bronze in the 2016 Rio World Championships.