It’s been dubbed the Glasgow gold rush, and Australia’s gilded run is showing no signs of slowing. Leading the charge are the nation’s female athletes, with 17 gold medals already secured and a string of historic performances.
Originally set to be hosted in regional Victoria, the Commonwealth Games were relocated to Glasgow, where competition began on July 23 and runs until August 2 (or the early hours of August 3 for those of us Down Under).
The star-studded Australian team arrived with plenty to prove. While many are defending titles, others have clawed their way back from injury and illness to return to the podium. Among the most remarkable comeback stories is Lani Pallister, who has overcome a plethora of health setbacks in recent years to get to where she is today. At these Games, that grit and determination have already paid off, with Pallister claiming two gold medals and a silver so far.
So, who are the women driving Australia’s success? As the race for more medals continues, these are the athletes you need to have on your radar.
Rose Davies
Clinching Australia’s first gold medal in the women’s 10,000m, Rose Davies surged past Kenya’s Diana Wanza in a thrilling finish to make history. Following an initial soft start, the Australian bided her time before unleashing a strategic final surge to snare gold.
“I have just had so much consistency and every race I have grown. I have shown that I belong here and I have been running good times, I’ve just been chipping away,” Davies said.
She added, “You have to back yourself no matter how fast the other girls are. I’ve been training really well and racing really well, so there was no reason why I couldn’t. I just kept reminding myself of that.”
A standout talent in her early teens, Davies’ path to the top has been far from linear. Hip injuries derailed her presumed ascent, and she recalls watching the Rio Olympics as a 16-year-old, never imagining she would one day compete on that stage.
A decade later, the 26-year-old is a two-time Olympian, having represented Australia twice in Tokyo (2020) and Paris (2024), and can now add Commonwealth Games gold to her growing list of achievements.
Kate McDonald
Kate McDonald came back swinging for redemption in the uneven bars event yesterday, claiming gold with a near-perfect routine that scored 14.333 — the only gymnast to break the 14-point mark.
Putting her seventh-place finish at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games behind her, the 25-year-old has now claimed back-to-back gold medals after helping Australia to the team title just days earlier.
Taking up gymnastics at just five years old, McDonald rose through the junior ranks before winning uneven bars medals at the Senior National Championships in 2018 and 2019. She has continued to build an impressive résumé, representing Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the women’s artistic team finished 10th in qualifying, narrowly missing a place in the team final.
As if being an elite gymnast wasn’t enough, McDonald is also studying a Bachelor of Environmental Science. How she finds the time, we’ll never know!
Lani Pallister
Australia’s national identity has long been intertwined with swimming, a legacy reaffirmed every four years as the Dolphins leave the Olympic pool laden with medals. At the Commonwealth Games, the story is much the same.
Lani Pallister continued that tradition with one of the most dominant swims of the Games, claiming gold in the women’s 1500m freestyle — more than 18 seconds clear of second place.
The 24-year-old had already delivered Australia’s first gold medal of the Games, winning the women’s 400m freestyle on day one, before adding silver behind teammate Mollie O’Callaghan in the 200m freestyle. She now has the chance to add to her medal haul in the upcoming 800m freestyle and the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay.
The success caps a remarkable comeback after several turbulent years. Pallister was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia and underwent heart surgery before also battling an eating disorder.
Her health struggles continued as she was struck by glandular fever, influenza A, influenza B, a vitamin B9 deficiency and even scabies. Weakened physically and mentally, she failed to qualify for a single event at the Tokyo Olympic Trials, a crushing setback for an athlete who had dreamed of competing at the Tokyo Olympics since childhood.
“All I ever wanted was to go to the Tokyo Olympics, like specifically, my favourite subject in primary school is Japanese,” Pallister told Olympics.com.
Coached by her mother, Janelle Pallister (née Elford), who was a Seoul 1988 Olympian and Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Pallister gradually rebuilt her confidence and form, earning selection for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
But cruel luck struck again when she tested positive for COVID-19. Although she contributed to Australia’s gold medal-winning 4x200m freestyle relay campaign, she was forced to withdraw from the individual 1500m freestyle, an event in which she had been tipped to medal.
“The Olympics last year were incredible, but also I think getting COVID at my first Olympics has made me realise that I wanted a lot more than I ever realised,” Pallister said.
“Now I’ve learnt a lot more about overcoming failure and just being willing to do absolutely anything and everything in the pool, in the gym and in training to be the best version of myself possible.”
Now, with her sights set on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, Pallister’s Commonwealth Games campaign is a a testament to her strength and ability to overcome adversity.
Liz Watson
While discourse surrounding the Diamonds’ uniform length has been attracting unnecessary attention, it is their performance that we are far more interested in.
The Diamonds have a formidable legacy to uphold, having never missed a netball final since the sport was introduced to the Commonwealth Games program in 1998. With four gold medals, they remain the most successful team in the competition’s history.
Leading the side this year is captain Liz Watson, one of the game’s most dominant midcourt players, who oscillates between wing attack and centre. Watson began playing netball at 12 years old, progressing through Victoria’s junior ranks before joining the Melbourne Vixens in 2014.
In her debut season, she helped the Vixens claim the ANZ Championship title and was named the club’s Rookie of the Year. Watson made her Australian Diamonds debut in 2016 during an away series against England before being appointed the 25th captain of the national side in late 2021.
Under Watson’s leadership, the Diamonds enter the Games as reigning Commonwealth Games champions after defeating Jamaica in the 2022 final. Her individual achievements are equally impressive, having won Australian netball’s most prestigious honour, the Liz Ellis Diamond, in 2018 and again in 2022.
Away from the court, the 32-year-old has also balanced elite sport with study, completing a Health Science degree at La Trobe University and currently undertaking a Bachelor of Education (Primary) at Deakin University.
Today, the Diamonds secured their fourth win in a 57-47 victory over South Africa.
Eileen Cikamatana
Eileen Cikamatana has just claimed her third Commonwealth gold medal, becoming the third female weightlifter in history to achieve the Commonwealth Games feat of winning three gold medals in a row.
Cikamatana clinched the top spot with 136kg on her first clean and jerk attempt, capping a remarkable comeback after finishing fourth at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
“Originally the plan was to finish up at the Olympics but we didn’t get what we wanted so we thought we would give it another shot – it was like yeah why not for another Commonwealth Games gold medal and make it a three-peat!” she told Channel 7.
Cikamatana first discovered weightlifting through a teacher; however, she was reluctant at first to give the sport a try.
“When my teacher suggested weightlifting, I was like, ‘No, I can’t do weightlifting because it’s for boys, it’s a male-dominated sport’.” she told Wide World of Sports.
However, after her teacher challenged her thinking, she decided to pursue the sport and, at the age of 15, was selected to train at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in New Caledonia under coaches Paul and Lilly Coffa.
Cikamatana’s career flourished, winning gold for Fiji in the 90kg class at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. However, a dispute with Weightlifting Fiji soon saw Cikamatana switch allegiances to Australia and relocate to Sydney, where she believed she would be respected as an athlete. In 2019, Cikamatana was granted a Global Talent visa and was permitted to represent Australia on the international stage.
Following yesterday’s gold medal win, Cikamatana said she was off to enjoy some cheesecake before setting her sights on Los Angeles 2028. A girl after our own hearts!
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