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Australia has claimed a medal double in the beach volleyball competition at The Bahamas 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games, with girl’s duo Bec Ingram and Carrie Van Rensburg claiming gold, and boy’s pair James Takken and Mark Nicolaidis securing bronze.

Having accounted for the strong English team in the first round of competition, the Australian’s faced a tough challenge against team New Zealand to claim gold.

But the Australian duo was up to the task, playing their best volleyball of the competition to secure gold 2-0 (21-13, 21-13).

A fired up Ingram was a dominant force at the net, while Van Rensburg controlled the back of the court in the comprehensive win.

Ingram had texta written notes on her forearm reading “loud” and “fun”. And the girls delivered on both fronts. Usually reserved off the court, the girls played with confidence and aggression to secure their gold, scarcely giving their New Zealand opponents the chance to turn the game.

The pair claimed their gold in front of a vocal crowd of Australian’s including members of their family and the victorious Rugby 7s girl’s team.

A short time before the girls claimed their gold, they watched on nervously as their male counterparts Mark Nicolaidis and James Takken worked to secure a bronze medal against Ghana.

After going down to the strong English pairing in yesterday’s semi (coincidently featuring a pair of identical twins born on the same day as Mark Nicoloaidis), the boys bounced back to secure a well deserved bronze medal.

Coaches Kerri Pottarst and Mandy Combes were both full of praise for their chargers.

Gold medallist Ingram will depart the Bahamas and head directly to the United States of America where she will commence a college scholarship and study occupational therapy.

However, the 18-year old is confident that her successful partnership with best friend Van Rensburg can continue long into the future.