Monmouth trio will compete at Commonwealth Games

Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools will have three athletes competing at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Current netball coach at Monmouth School for Girls, Chelsea Lewis, and former Monmouth School for Boys’ pupils Hallam Amos and Lewis Oliva will be representing Team Wales in Australia.

The showpiece occasion, which opens today, is the largest sporting event to be staged in Australia this decade.

The trio will be among more than 6,600 athletes and team officials from 71 Commonwealth nations competing in event cities Brisbane, Cairns and Townsville.

Lewis, a Track Sprint cyclist, is currently studying Medicine at Cardiff University and was inspired to take up cycling after watching Jason Queally grab Olympic gold.

This will be Lewis’ third Commonwealth Games and the cycling action gets under way on Thursday (5th April) and runs until Sunday (8th April).

In 2017, Lewis won gold at the British Keirin Championships. His career-best result has been a Keirin silver medal at December’s Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Canada.

Netball coach Chelsea, who started at Monmouth School for Girls in September, will be hoping to inspire pupils at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Wales will compete in Pool B and open their campaign against New Zealand on Friday 6th April before facing Scotland on Saturday 7th April and England on Monday 9th April.

Wales will then meet Uganda next Tuesday (10th April) before completing their pool fixtures against Malawi next Wednesday (11th April).

Chelsea, a shooter, scored 231 goals at the 2015 World Cup as Wales finished seventh – their best performance since 1991.

She has won 50 caps for Wales and this will be her second Commonwealth Games appearance, having competed at Glasgow 2014.

Chelsea is in her third season with Team Bath and finished the 2017 season as the Vitality Super League’s sixth highest scorer with 534 goals.

Hallam, a former Head Boy, was a surprise inclusion in Wales’ Men’s Sevens squad and should provide added star quality to the rugby event.

Hallam has won 15 senior caps for Wales but never played international sevens and his fast feet, power and lines of running should benefit him.

The Dragons ace enjoyed a superb autumn for Warren Gatland’s Wales side when he played in all four Test matches, scoring tries against Australia and Georgia.

But Hallam suffered an ankle injury on Boxing Day, which kept him out of action during a crucial period, and he did not feature for Wales in the Six Nations.

Hallam, from Cross Ash, is currently studying Medicine at Cardiff University, following in the footsteps of both his doctor parents and other Welsh international rugby players such as JPR Williams and Jamie Roberts.

Wales, who will line up in Pool D, begin their Sevens programme on Saturday 14th April with matches against Uganda, Sri Lanka, England and Fiji.

The fixtures to decide the final team placings and the medallists take place on Sunday 15th April – the final day of the Commonwealth Games.

Sunshine Radio's Shaun Moore will be LIVE from the Gold Coast each morning with the latest news and results from the 2018 Commonwealth Games.