Aoife Coughlan (judo) put on a rare show in front of her family – some of which had never seen her compete live before – when she won gold in the women’s 70kg at her Commonwealth Games debut at Coventry Arena near Birmingham. It continued a stellar run in the sport after making her world championships and Olympic debut in 2021 and her Commonwealth Games debut in 2022. Another product of a judo family, Aoife’s parents met through the sport while at university in Ireland before deciding to come to Australia, the family settling in Traralgon in Victoria’s Gippsland. Both older brother Eoin and younger sister Maeve have represented Australia in the sport, with Eoin going to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Coughlan has five Australian and two Oceania senior titles to go along with bronze medals at the Asian championships in 2019 and 2021. In 2021, she also finished 5th at the Doha World Masters – rated the toughest event on the international circuit behind the world championships and the Olympics – as well as 7th at the Budapest world championships. A month later, she made her Olympic debut in Tokyo but was eliminated in the round of 16. Aoife has a degree in exercise science and human movement from Victoria University.