Mia Gross (athletics) received a last-minute call up for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games to replace an injured Riley Day in the women’s 4x100m relay squad. Mia ran the first leg in the heats while the team went on to place a brilliant fourth. However, 11 months later in July 2023, they were elevated to the bronze medal following the disqualification of winners Nigeria for a doping violation.

Mia began her sporting journey aged 9 at Geelong Little Athletics before earning an athletics scholarship to Geelong Grammar in year 10. A brilliant junior sprinter, Mia first realised her own potential at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas where she won a gold medal in the mixed 4x100m and just missed the final of the 100m, despite suffering a broken wrist after colliding with a competitor on the warm-up track. The following year saw an appearance at the World Youth Championships in Finland as a 16-year-old, but an endless run of injuries had her questioning her future.

Joining John Nicolosi’s squad in Melbourne in 2022 was a breakthrough, with Mia making her senior Australian team debut in Birmingham. A solid campaign in Europe followed in 2023, while a silver in the 200m at the 2024 Oceania Athletic Championships secured a ticket to her first Olympic Games in Paris where she ran the 200m and 4x100m relay.