TALIQUA TO SHINE ON THE BIG STAGE

SHE’S one of the best athletes Australia has produced but you’ve probably never heard of her.

Taliqua Clancy became the first indigenous beach volleyball player to represent Australia at the Olympics when she lined up in Rio last year with Louise Bawden.

And she’s leapt to favouritism for the inaugural beach volleyball gold at the Commonwealth Games after double victory on the world tour recently.

Clancy has partnered with Mariafe Artacho del Solar and their combination has provided immediate success with the pair winning back-to-back gold medals on the FIVB world tour.

The Australians beat Poland in China on Sunday to claim their second consecutive title after victory in Japan in their first tournament together.

“It’s just the patience and trust in our game,” Clancy said of the success of the new pairing.

“We know our side is quite good and we know that we can score quite well as well. As long as we stay together and play as a team, we can come back whatever the score is.”

Artacho del Solar said “trust and belief in ourselves and each other” was the key to the pair’s success.

“We were provided freedom to just go and play our game in the wind,” she said.

“T and I did a really good job of sticking together and being aggressive.”

Beach volleyball will make its Commonwealth Games debut on the Gold Coast next year and the success of Clancy and Artacho del Solar has them in the box seat for a maiden gold medal on the big stage.

While some of the world’s best, including the Chinese, Brazilians and US won’t be there, competition on the Gold Coast is expected to be strong and will thrust the sport into the spotlight as it did in the Sydney Olympics when Kerri Pottharst and Natalie Cook famously won gold on Bondi Beach.

And Pottharst believes Clancy has the potential to eclipse the achievements of even she and Cook.

“To me, Taliqua is one of the best beach volleyballers – no, the best beach volleyball player Australia has ever seen,” Pottharst said in 2014 when the Kingaroy product played an event here on the Gold Coast.

“Give her another 10 years and there’s no doubt she will top everything anybody has ever done.

“If there were two Taliquas she’d probably win (Olympic) gold.”

Beach volleyball will be held on Coolangatta beach next April.