Commonwealth Games: Cyclist Liliya Tatarinoff quickly making name on and off track

Cyclist Liliya Tatarinoff is fast making a name for herself on and off the track.

The adopted West Australian burst onto the scene at the Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games when she won gold in the 500m time trial and added two bronze medals in the sprint and keirin.

A holder of multiple junior titles, she made her senior Australian team debut on the world stage with a bronze medal at the 2025 UCI track world championships.

She followed that up with an Oceanic title riding with a combined WAIS/Queensland team this year.

Now she wants to add a Commonwealth Games medal as part of the Australian team in Glasgow where she will compete in sprints, keirin, the 1000-metre time-trial and as a reserve for the team sprint.

“I hope to be in the team and then to medal. The team have a great chance of medalling, even gold, so it will be really exciting to be a part of,” she told The West Australian.

“Representing Australia has been my dream since I was a little girl.

“I love to race the sprints because of the tactical challenge, it’s fun, it’s fast and it’s doe or die. I’ve also been loving keirins for the same reason.

“I’m not too sure what I can achieve in the sprints in Glasgow. I want to get a quick time in the qualifying, 10.6(sec) would be nice. My personal best is 10.8. I like to PB by big chunks. No faffing around.

“Really my goal is just to race well tactically. If it’s fast and I race well and I’m happy with how I race, that’ll be a tick.

“The keirin, I’d like to get into the final.”

Off the track she is studying fashion at TAFE and her profile lists her interests as “going for walks or adventures and the sewing machine.”

She frequently models styles from Lilya (sic), an Australian women’s clothing brand known for its relaxed, timeless designs.

Tatarinoff hails from the NSW Central Coast but shifted to Perth earlier this year after the NSW Institute of Sport track program was restructured.It was an easy choice to train under the tutelage of West Australian Institute of Sport coach Shane Perkins.

“He’s a really good coach. He wants the best out of everyone and he’s always there to help out. I’ve seen a big improvement since coming here with my performance in every aspect,” she said.

She said the 2023 world youth championships were important in her development.

“It was such a cool experience to go to a multi-sport event. My performance wasn’t the best, I like, I didn’t get the best out of myself there,” she said.

“I did get a gold in the 500 which obviously you’ve got to be happy about, but I was aiming for a lot quicker time, so I was a little bit disappointed with that.

“The racing aspects, I just didn’t really have the legs there, but that was my first like big international event, so just like getting used to the processes.

“Getting used to the fact your legs are going to be sore and fatigued from jet lag and stuff, that’s what I took from that experience.”

She rode qualifying for the 2025 world championship alongside Alessia McCaig, Molly McGill and Kristine Perkins where they won a bronze medal.

“It was a big jump. It was my first year in the elite ranks and then my first elite international event. I was just so excited to be there, and performance wise, I was actually, I was really happy with how I rode,” she said.

“The team sprint. I just rode the qual, but I did the first lap, and that was a PB for me, so I was really happy with that. And I also raced the keirins, and I learnt a lot from that.

“I surprised myself with how I was riding with the girls, like I was up with them, so that was pretty good. Gave me a bit of confidence.”

McCaig and McGill will be starters in the team sprint, alongside Birmingham gold medallist Kristina Clonan with Tatarinoff the reserve.

“It’s pretty awesome. It’s such a big event,” she said.

Tatarinoff has already navigated one big change in her life at such a young age, shifting across the country.

She’ll have to do it again in December when she relocates to Queensland when she joins the national track training squad.

“It’ll be another big change, so I have to prepare myself for that, but I think to be in the national team environment will be really good,” she said.