Popular
Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar are aiming to turn silver into gold after being named Australia’s women’s beach volleyball team for the Commonwealth Games in English city Birmingham.
The pair have been selected alongside reigning Commonwealth Games champion Chris McHugh who teams up with debutant Paul Burnett.
McHugh claimed men’s gold when partnering the now-retired Damien Schumann at Gold Coast 2018.
Clancy and Artacho del Solar fell agonisingly short of completing a golden double for Australia on home sand as they lost to Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan in the women’s final four years ago.
Since then, the Australian duo have secured silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and performed well on the World Beach Pro Tour this season.
Clancy says they will now head to Birmingham in July seeking redemption.
“I’m grateful for another chance to wear the green and gold, and to represent my people,” Clancy said.
“Sport is an incredible place to showcase our beautiful culture, and the Commonwealth Games is no different.
“Mariafe and I really want to turn our silver from the Gold Coast in 2018 into gold.
“I can’t wait to get over there and show the world what we’re made of.”
Burnett and McHugh put their chemistry to the test at the Asian Beach Volleyball Championships in Thailand last November.
McHugh will now be hoping to retain the men’s title alongside Burnett at Birmingham 2022.
“I’m very excited to be selected on Team Australia for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games with Paul,” McHugh said.
“Every time we get to represent Australia and pull on the green in gold is so special.
“The gold medal on the Gold Coast was a phenomenal achievement for Damo [Schumann] and myself, and that will stay with us forever.
“But this is a new team, with Paul playing at his first Commonwealth Games, and we have our own goals that we are striving every day to achieve.
“We are going to Birmingham to win every game that we play, compete hard for every point and represent Australia with pride.”
Australia Volleyball chief executive Andrew Dee added: “All four athletes are incredible ambassadors for our sport, and I know that they will do us proud on the world stage again this year.
“We had great success at the last Commonwealth Games on home soil in 2018, with Chris winning gold, and Mariafe and Taliqua a silver medal, and I know both teams are looking forward to having the opportunity to fight for personal best results in Birmingham this year.”
Men’s and women’s beach volleyball competitions at Birmingham 2022 are scheduled to run from July 30 to August 7.
Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10
For nearly 15 years now, insidethegames.biz has been at the forefront of reporting fearlessly on what happens in the Olympic Movement. As the first website not to be placed behind a paywall, we have made news about the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and other major events more accessible than ever to everybody.
insidethegames.biz has established a global reputation for the excellence of its reporting and breadth of its coverage. For many of our readers from more than 200 countries and territories around the world the website is a vital part of their daily lives. The ping of our free daily email alert, sent every morning at 6.30am UK time 365 days a year, landing in their inbox, is as a familiar part of their day as their first cup of coffee.
Even during the worst times of the COVID-19 pandemic, insidethegames.biz maintained its high standard of reporting on all the news from around the globe on a daily basis. We were the first publication in the world to signal the threat that the Olympic Movement faced from the coronavirus and have provided unparalleled coverage of the pandemic since.
As the world begins to emerge from the COVID crisis, insidethegames.biz would like to invite you to help us on our journey by funding our independent journalism. Your vital support would mean we can continue to report so comprehensively on the Olympic Movement and the events that shape it. It would mean we can keep our website open for everyone. Last year, nearly 25 million people read insidethegames.biz, making us by far the biggest source of independent news on what is happening in world sport.
Every contribution, however big or small, will help maintain and improve our worldwide coverage in the year ahead. Our small and dedicated team were extremely busy last year covering the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, an unprecedented logistical challenge that stretched our tight resources to the limit.
The remainder of 2022 is not going to be any less busy, or less challenging. We had the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, where we sent a team of four reporters, and coming up are the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Summer World University and Asian Games in China, the World Games in Alabama and multiple World Championships. Plus, of course, there is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Unlike many others, insidethegames.biz is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe that sport belongs to everybody, and everybody should be able to read information regardless of their financial situation. While others try to benefit financially from information, we are committed to sharing it with as many people as possible. The greater the number of people that can keep up to date with global events, and understand their impact, the more sport will be forced to be transparent.
Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.
Read more
Contribute
Back to top
Back to Birmingham 2022 Home
Geoff Berkeley is a senior reporter at insidethegames.biz. After joining Midlands-based newspaper publisher Bullivant Media in 2011, Geoff rose through the ranks to become editor of the Malvern Observer and sports editor of several other weekly titles. He then went on to be appointed as the Worcester Warriors correspondent for the Worcester News where he was nominated for Sports Journalist of the Year at the Midlands Media Awards in 2016 and 2017. He also had a spell at Sportsbeat in 2020.
28 July 2022
8 August 2022
British Pound (GBP)
France through to next round as Australia, Poland and Argentina win
When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel’s Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act”. He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.
IPC – IPC Anti Doping Director – Bonn, Germany
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) offers the position of a full-time IPC Anti-Doping Director (f/m/x) in an international and multicultural team at the IPC Headquarters in Bonn, Germany, starting as soon as possible. The IPC Anti-Doping Director is accountable to the IPC General Counsel and will be responsible for directing the Anti-Doping Department and Anti-Doping Programme in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code, the IPC Anti-Doping Code and the IPC Strategic Plan.
More jobs
In the build-up to Birmingham 2022 we’ll be speaking to the Chef de Missions of each team as they look forward to the Games.
Read about Singapore
Countries and Territories
It looks like the end of the road for the Global Association of International Sports Federations, but sooner or later demand for a forceful International Federation mouthpiece will return, writes David Owen.
Read more
Big Read Archive
Will you be watching the FIFA World Cup in Qatar on television?
You have viewed over 50 articles in the last 12 months.
Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10
For nearly 15 years now, insidethegames.biz has been at the forefront of reporting fearlessly on what happens in the Olympic Movement. As the first website not to be placed behind a paywall, we have made news about the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and other major events more accessible than ever to everybody.
insidethegames.biz has established a global reputation for the excellence of its reporting and breadth of its coverage. For many of our readers from more than 200 countries and territories around the world the website is a vital part of their daily lives. The ping of our free daily email alert, sent every morning at 6.30am UK time 365 days a year, landing in their inbox, is as a familiar part of their day as their first cup of coffee.
Even during the worst times of the COVID-19 pandemic, insidethegames.biz maintained its high standard of reporting on all the news from around the globe on a daily basis. We were the first publication in the world to signal the threat that the Olympic Movement faced from the coronavirus and have provided unparalleled coverage of the pandemic since.
As the world begins to emerge from the COVID crisis, insidethegames.biz would like to invite you to help us on our journey by funding our independent journalism. Your vital support would mean we can continue to report so comprehensively on the Olympic Movement and the events that shape it. It would mean we can keep our website open for everyone. Last year, nearly 25 million people read insidethegames.biz, making us by far the biggest source of independent news on what is happening in world sport.
Every contribution, however big or small, will help maintain and improve our worldwide coverage in the year ahead. Our small and dedicated team were extremely busy last year covering the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, an unprecedented logistical challenge that stretched our tight resources to the limit.
The remainder of 2022 is not going to be any less busy, or less challenging. We had the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, where we sent a team of four reporters, and coming up are the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Summer World University and Asian Games in China, the World Games in Alabama and multiple World Championships. Plus, of course, there is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Unlike many others, insidethegames.biz is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe that sport belongs to everybody, and everybody should be able to read information regardless of their financial situation. While others try to benefit financially from information, we are committed to sharing it with as many people as possible. The greater the number of people that can keep up to date with global events, and understand their impact, the more sport will be forced to be transparent.
Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.
Read more 