There are now less than two years to go until the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia’s Gold Coast and Team Isle of Man’s preparations are gathering momentum.

The event, between 4th – 15th April, will feature 18 different sports involving 6,500 athletes and team officials from 70 nations. This week, the official mascot of the games was unveiled on the Gold Coast’s Burleigh Heads Beach. The bright blue koala bear is called ‘Borobi’ – the indigenous Yugambeh language word for koala – and Games organisers say he will ‘promote Australia and powerful messages about its natural and aboriginal heritage to the world.’

2018 will mark 60 years since the Isle of Man first competed in the Commonwealth Games. The last games held in the Southern Hemisphere (Melbourne, 2006) proved successful with Mark Cavendish winning gold in cycling’s 20km Scratch race and shooters David Walton and Trevor Boyles taking bronze in the team Clay Pigeon Trap discipline.

Team Manager Trevor Taubman is feeling very positive about IOM prospects: ‘2018 seems a long way off but our athletes are training very hard, with some of them also targeting places on Team GB at the Olympic Games in Rio this August. All our team members are talented and dedicated and we’re looking forward to another successful Commonwealth Games, where we expect to be represented in nine sports.’

At Easter 23 swimmers travelled Malta for a warm weather training camp. The experience of swimming in a 50m outdoor pool in the sunshine provided vital preparation in the lead up to Gold Coast, which will use an outdoor pool. During their time in Malta the swimmers spent four hours a day in the pool and an hour each day taking part in land training.

Chef de Mission Leonie Cooil said: ‘Every swimmer who went to Malta gained a huge amount from the experience of swimming outdoors in the 50m pool. They all worked incredibly hard and everyone made improvements, even in such a short amount of time. I have no doubt we will see huge gains in their performances.’

Four Isle of Man swimmers will take part in the British Olympic Trials being held from April 12th - 17th 2016 in Glasgow. Charlotte Atkinson, Alex Bregazzi, Laura Kinley and Niamh Robinson will compete in a pool they know well, against the best swimmers in GB for places to Rio on Team GB.

Further afield Isle of Man flat green bowlers Clive and Bernice McGreal recently competed at the World Championships in Australia, prior to which they were trainIng in Cyprus due to the lack of local facilities following the floods at the NSC last year.

Shooter Tim Kneale will make his Olympic debut in Rio over the summer. The current Double Trap world record holder won joint team gold and individual silver at the Shotgun World Championships in Italy and last month Tim was crowned the Isle of Man Sportsman of the Year.

Sportswoman of the Year, runner Catherine Reid, who won a bronze medal at last year’s Junior World Athletics Championships, is on the selection short list for Team GB’s track team.

Meanwhile our globe-trotting world class cyclists are hoping the event dates for the Gold Coast don’t clash with the UCI’s 2018 World Road Cycling calendar.

Photo - Isle of Man Swim Team in Pool.