By Isabel Lay
Winning in dominant style at the 2025/2026 Australian Junior Track Series has seen Ava Gidget Rodgers awarded our first Emerging Athlete of the Month honour for 2026.
Recently crowned overall champion of the 2025/2026 Australian Junior Track Series, Rodgers led across the entire series to finish atop the podium with an impressive 95-point margin.
This series allows junior cyclists all over Australia to test their race strategies against the best juniors in the nation.
Rodgers described the winning feeling as “awesome” and attests her performance to her consistency throughout the series.
The Emerging Athlete recognition is highly regarded among past recipients, and it’s no different for Rodgers.
“I feel incredibly proud. It was such a nice surprise to be recognised,” Rodgers said.
Her journey into cycling began by accident at the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS).
Originally a runner, Rodgers was influenced by her dad competing in triathlons. During a talent identification program with the WAIS, she was selected for three different sports and went down the route of cycling to improve the cycling leg of her triathlons.
Safe to say she has not looked back since!
Her love for cycling has only increased, drawing on the social side of cycling, and how connecting with people nationally and internationally has been an exceptional experience for her.
She describes cycling as “so much more than riding a bike.”
Cross-training has also played a significant role in her development, with Rodgers speaking highly of how training across multiple sports has strengthened her cycling performance. She adds that it “helps strengthen [her] all-round cardio and endurance and keeps it interesting and less repetitive.”
Participating in multiple sports and disciplines keeps it challenging and helps her build skills that she can take into cycling.
Rodgers has also represented Australia at international events in Malaysia and New Zealand, where she highlighted its significance to her development and the team aspect that allows her to contribute to a team.
Her success in those events has only driven her hunger to continue to represent Australia.
Rodgers is not just competing for herself, but others around her as well. She thrives in sharing her experiences on social media.
“My aim is to inspire as many girls as possible to stay in sport.”
Her clear drive to support young girls and encourage them to stay in sport creates a supportive community for not just her, but other young girls.
Her passion for supporting young girls is reflected in her involvement in the SportWest Voices of Children and Young People Advisory Group, where she contributed to discussions on key issues facing the sporting community. Her participation in the Play Like a Girl leadership program also allowed her to grow alongside likeminded athletes.
Rodgers salutes her journey to the advice from her mum, and her guidance through her sport thus far. She explains, “to win, I need to learn to lose.”
Rodgers continues to grow in confidence with the help of others around her, building her mental toughness and resilience. Those within her inner circle as well as the wider cycling community.
As for her future goals, Rodgers continues to push for national selection and Australian development squads.
She describes 2026 as an important year, with opportunities to be selected for national teams as well as balancing her final year of high school. Rodgers visions her future in the long-term competing for Australia and touring the world with a professional team.
The future is bright for Rodgers, as she continues to push her cycling to the stars, and the Emerging Athlete honours adds to her many achievements thus far, and those in the future.
The Commonwealth Games serves as a platform for developing the future stars of Australian sport and the Emerging Athlete of the Year forms part of a refreshed Awards and Honours program developed by the CGA Heritage and Awards Committee.
The CGA Emerging Athlete of the Year Award celebrates the next generation of Australian sport stars and those that may make an impact for Australia at major sport events in the future.
Over the course of 2026, an athlete will be recognised each month as the Emerging Athlete of the Month and will receive a $500 contribution towards their training and competition expenses.
Three finalists from the monthly winners will then split a $7000 cash prize, with the winner receiving $5000 and the two runners-up $1000 respectively.