Sinead Diver (athletics) made her Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham where she finished fifth in the women’s marathon in a small field of 16 runners. Later in the year, she headed to Valencia in Spain where she broke the Australian marathon record, clocking 2:21:34 to lower the record set by Benita Willis which had stood for 16 years.

Born in Ireland, Sinead came to Australia in 2002 on a one-year working holiday with her now husband Colin. Her pathway to the top was nothing short of unconventional, taking up the sport when she was 33 to improve her fitness after the birth of her second son.

Selected for Tokyo Olympics at age 44, Diver became the oldest Australian to ever compete in athletics at the Olympics where she finished 10th, just the second Australian woman to finish in the top 10 of an Olympic marathon after Lisa Ondieki took silver in Seoul in 1988. Three years later she was the oldest track and field athlete at her second Olympics in Paris but withdrew from the race after just 1.2km due to severe cramping.

Not only does Diver balance being a mum with training, but she also works full time as an IT consultant.