Mariah Williams (hockey) was the only indigenous (Wiradjuri) member of the Hockeyroos squad at her Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham, just a month after making her 100th international appearance at the World Cup.

A school visit from Kookaburra Stephen Davies to her central west NSW hometown of Parkes inspired Mariah to commit to hockey before she moved to Hunter Sports High School in Newcastle.

2013 was a milestone year for the then 17-year-old who made her Australian debut at both junior (Jillaroos) and senior (Hockeyroos) level. She put her international dreams on hold until after she had finished her HSC, before returning to the squad in 2015 and was selected to represent Australia at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. A serious adductor injury then kept her out of the game for nearly two years before she returned to the Hockeyroos in 2019, although a shin stress fracture and COVID-19 made the lead-up to her second Olympics in Tokyo a challenge.

Mariah is an ambassador for the Australian Institute of Sport’s Share a Yarn program which seeks to build more meaningful connections between sport and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.