CLANCY Taliqua

Previous teammates
Eliza Hynes, Mariafe Artacho del Solar, Katie Bartoli (bvbinfo.com, 15 Jul 2017)

General
PARTNERSHIP
She teamed up with Mariafe Artacho del Solar in 2017. "Our pathways changed when it came to the Olympic cycle [for the 2020 Games in Tokyo], but I feel that journey that we both took and those experiences that we had, that's what really helped us when we came together in 2017. I think we've got a really great chemistry on the court. We trust each other a lot. We have similar values, even culturally, we're both very family-orientated and passionate, so I feel all those elements have just made us such a great team." (tokyo2020.org, 02 Dec 2020)

MAKING HISTORY
She is of Indigenous Australian heritage, a member of the Goreng Goreng and Wulli Wulli people of Queensland, and became the first Indigenous Australian to represent Australia in beach volleyball at an Olympic Games when she competed at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. She hopes she can be an inspiration for future athletes. "I'm extremely proud that I get the opportunity to represent my culture. I'm very proud to be Aboriginal and it's just something that's a really special part of me. I love that it gives me the opportunity to be a role model. I hope I can inspire people to dream and do things that haven't been done before." (commonwealthgames.com.au, 19 Dec 2020; sbs.com.au, 28 Jun 2016)

MENTOR
She has mentored Indigenous Australian students through Port Adelaide Football Club's Aboriginal Power Cup programme. "I was extremely fortunate that my coach was a Port Adelaide supporter and was connected with Paul Vandenbergh who runs the Aboriginal Power Cup programme. The programme delivers modules that are based around healthy living, nutrition, fitness and the importance of connecting with your culture. I'm still educating myself about the history of our culture but staying connected to my heritage is extremely important to me, so being able to share that with these students is pretty special." (velocitymagazine.com.au, 04 May 2021; commonwealthgames.com.au, 19 Dec 2020)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She was appointed as an Australian team executive and a Commonwealth Games Australia athlete advisory group member ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. In May 2021 she became a director of 'Racing Together', a Queensland-based program helping young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to get involved in motorsport. (olympics.com.au, 13 Nov 2020)