THE TEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Reece Homfray and Scott Gullan profile the international stars set to light up the Games

ELAINE THOMPSON ATHLETICS

The top female sprinter in the world is coming to the Gold Coast. Jamaican Elaine Thompson is poised to set the Games alight when she races the 100m, 200m and relays. The 25-year-old rose to prominence in 2015 as part of Jamaica’s 4x100m gold medalwinning team at the world championships and hasn’t looked back. Thompson made her Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, winning the 100m and 200m finals and silver in the 4x100m relay. The Gold Coast will be her second Commonwealth Games after Glasgow in 2014 when she only contested the 4x100m heats. With a 100m PB of 10.70sec, there is no doubting Thompson will be the one to beat.

CHAD LE CLOS SWIMMING

The South African star of the pool is a former 200m butterfly Olympic champion and more than capable of repeating his 100m and 200m butterfly double from Glasgow 2014. At 25, le Clos boasts four Olympic medals, four longcourse world championship golds and nine shortcourse golds. He first made waves in 2010 when he won five medals at the Youth Olympics in Singapore and two years later was Olympic champion in London in the 200m fly. He admitted being disappointed by his performances in Rio de Janeiro despite dead-heating with US superstar Michael Phelps for silver in the 100m fly which made him South Africa’s most decorated Olympian.

ADAM PEATY SWIMMING

The English breaststroker arrives as the 100m Olympic champion and is eyeing another big medal haul. Peaty, 23, has a formidable trophy cabinet which includes five longcourse world championship golds and two Commonwealth golds from Glasgow in 2014. Peaty should win the 50m, 100m and maybe even the 200m breaststroke on the Gold Coast and will be one of the backbones of England’s relay teams. He heads to Australia in ominous form after winning the 50m and 100m breaststroke double at the British championships in March. Amazingly, Peaty did not take swimming seriously until he was 17 but made his Olympic debut four years later in Rio de Janeiro where he claimed a gold and silver medal.

CASTER SEMENYA ATHLETICS

Few athletes will head into the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in better form than South African star Caster Semenya.

The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games 800m gold medallist dominated the recent South African national titles, claiming both the 800m and 1500m titles.

Semenya cruised to gold in the 800m, with her run of 1:57.80 officially her fastest time in South Africa. That stunning effort came after strong performances in the 800m heats and an equally impressive victory in the 1500m final at 4:10.68.

Her heroics at her home championships came as little surprise, with Semenya bringing home a bronze in the 1500m and more gold in the 800m at last year’s world championships in London.

While Semenya will be a raging favourite to add to her glittering resume the South African will face some stiff competition from the likes of Ugandan hopeful Docus Ajok and Australia’s 800m national women’s champion Brittany McGowan.

Ajok (2:00.02) and McGowan (2:00.24) are owners of the third and fourth best times in the 800m event this year, with New Zealand’s Angela Petty (2:00.73) rounding out the top five. This trio will certainly keep Semenya on her toes at the Gold Coast but with two performances under two minutes this year it will take an remarkable effort to dethrone South Africa’s 800m queen.

BETH POTTER ATHLETICS/TRIATHLON

Representing your country in one sport is impressive, two is special, but two in the one major Games is a whole new level. Yet that’s what awaits Scotland middle distance runner and triathlete Beth Potter. The 26-year-old, who finished fifth in the 10,000m at the Glasgow Games, is back for another crack while also tackling the individual and relay triathlons. Potter, representing Great Britain, was 34th in the 10,000m at the Rio Olympics, but has made such a dramatic improvement in her swim and bike disciplines she is prioritising triathlon over the track. Her jampacked schedule begins on April 5 with the individual race (750m swim, 20km ride and 5km run), followed by the relay two days later. The 10,000m is scheduled for April 9.

TOM DALEY DIVING

With nearly two million followers on Instagram, Daley is a British diver with a rock-star reputation. The 23-year-old is a three-time world champion and two-time Olympic bronze medallist who will team up with Dan Goodfellow for England. The pair tuned up with a bronze in the 10m synchronised pairs at the world series in Beijing this month and will be among the favourites for gold on the Gold Coast. Daley became world champion for the first time in 2009 when he won the 10m platform at just 15. In 2010, he snared two golds at the Delhi Commonwealth Games before winning gold and silver in Glasgow. In red-hot form and relaxed on the big stage, Daley and Goodfellow are primed.

YOHAN BLAKE ATHLETICS

The Jamaican carries the hopes of a nation after Usain Bolt’s retirement. Blake, 28, was a prodigious junior talent and the youngest sprinter to crack the 10sec barrier at 19. He became a world champion for the first time in 2011 when he won gold in the 100m and 4x100m relay, before winning London Olympics silver in the 100m and 200m behind Bolt. After a series of hamstring injuries, Blake returned to his best and qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics where he ran fourth in the 100m final in 9.93secs before helping Jamaica to gold in the 4x100m relay. His 100m PB of 9.69sec set in 2012 remains the fastest time behind Bolt’s world record of 9.58sec.

PENNY OLEKSIAK SWIMMING

Either get your tickets or make sure you’re near a TV for the women’s 100m freestyle final. The Canadian is the reigning Olympic champion in the event after taking gold at just 16 in Rio. The feat made her Canada’s youngest ever Olympic gold medallist and the first to win four medals at one Games (gold in the 100m freestyle, silver in the 100m butterfly and bronze in the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays). Oleksiak will take on Australia’s golden girls Cate and Bronte Campbell, who are desperate to avenge their Rio disappointment.

SRIKANTH KIDAMBI BADMINTON

You have to be good to deny India’s cricketers for the nation’s sportsperson of the year award but that’s what Kidambi achieved in 2017. The 25-year-old won two world superseries titles in Indonesia and Australia last year then backed it up by winning the Denmark and French Opens. Kidambi made a name for himself in 2014 when he beat then Olympic champion Lin Dan in the China Open Super Series and gold in the singles and teams events at the South Asian Games in 2016. Described by one of his rivals as “the most complete player on tour”, Kidambi will be one of the favourites for gold.