OMEN
03-16-2006, 10:11 PM
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ANNA Meares delivered Australia's first gold medal last night, defying doctor's orders, family rivalry and nerves to win the 500m time-trial in Commonwealth record time.
The Olympic and world record holder was the last rider in the time-trial heats and knew she had to do something special to win the event.
Meares, a 22-year-old part-time bank teller from North Queensland had the gauntlet thrown down by England's world champion Victoria Pendleton, who clocked a Games-record time in the penultimate heat.
Waiting in the middle of the track Anna let out a quiet expletive and resolved to ride even faster.
"I don't want to repeat what I thought, 'gosh' might be a nice way of putting it," Meares said after the race.
Meares is a big meet performer and was in front of the clock all the way, riding home on a storm of support from the packed stand.
At 7.39pm she crossed the line, the scoreboard clock at the Melbourne velodrome stopped at 34.326seconds, then flashed red to record the second Games record ride in a matter of minutes.
Australia had its first gold and everybody could breathe a little easier. Meares had beaten Pendleton by a blink, although the official time recorded the gap as a fractional 0.336sec.
"That's really cool. That's awesome," Meares said when told she was Australia's first gold medal winner of the games.
"The crowd was going pretty wild so I didn't really see the time until I was over on the back straight.
"The crowd was so far over the fence, that's when I caught a glimpse of my time and I am so, so happy with that.
"While the race was on I didn't see or hear anything but the crowd, but the first thing I wanted to do once the race over was go and point or acknowledge the crowd."
Anna's elder sister Kerrie took a bronze medal in the 500m time-trial and the pair embraced at the end of the event.
The sisters from Far North Queensland were watched by parents Marilyn and Anthony, who had made their first trip outside the state to watch the pair compete in a major meeting.
The sisters' other siblings, Tracey and Scott, were also on hand with their partners. All wore green and gold Team Meares outfits.
"Mum and dad's made a lot of sacrifices for me and Kerrie and it was great that they could be here tonight, this pays them back in a way," Anna said.
"At international events I've always been really nervous, but tonight was the first in really four years where I been fully focused and in control of myself and my emotions, knowing that my friends and family are up in the stands and supporting me."
Meares said she and her sister would probably go back to the village and celebrate the gold and bronze with a hot chocolate and massage.
By rights Anna should not have been on the bike last night. In July she was diagnosed with multiple disc injuries and told to take 10 months off.
At one stage she could not even walk, but the young champion is made of tough stuff and decided after about eight weeks that rest was not for her. She went back to training and changed the way she rode to ease pressure on her back.
Meares has spent as much time on the physio table as the track of late, missing the time trial in the recent national championships because of the injury concerns. She surprised herself and earned a big hug from Australia's track coach Martin Barras.
"I didn't even think I could get close to a 34 seconds tonight," a beaming Anna said after the race, "It is just a compliment to my coach Martin Barras and the support staff at Adelaide that I even got here.
"I didn't feel my back injury at all during that whole ride. I'll be sore tomorrow."
Meares said the Melbourne crowd had helped.
"It really does mean a lot to me," she said afterwards.
Meares won gold in the event at the Athens Olympics in world record time and bronze in the sprint. She already had Commonwealth bronze in the sprint from Manchester.
Unfortunately for both Meares' girls the 500m sprint has been dropped from Beijing in favour of a mountain bike event.
Her sister Kerrie, 23, was the reigning 500m time-trial gold medallist at Manchester but has since been caught by her younger sibling.
The elder Meares girl watched from the warm-down bike as her sister rode the last leg of the time-trial and was overjoyed with her performance, even if it meant she slipped from a silver to bronze.
Both had started riding in Middlemount, their parents making a 300km journey each weekend to allow them to compete.
The pair trains together and enjoy a supportive competitiveness.
The 500m sprint is fast, furious and unforgiving. Each rider is alone on the track with only the clock and her rivals times to compete against. Two flying laps and little more than half a minute later it's over. Blink and you miss it; the podium that is.
Anna's pre-race ritual involved spending the day painting Australian flags and manicuring her fingernails. Cycling coach Martin Barras insists his female riders hit the track wearing full make-up.
"Look good, feel good, go good," Barras explained. He was not joking.
Meares established the world record of 33.952sec in Athens under intense pressure as the last rider out. She needed a personal best to win and delivered.
The Australian
ANNA Meares delivered Australia's first gold medal last night, defying doctor's orders, family rivalry and nerves to win the 500m time-trial in Commonwealth record time.
The Olympic and world record holder was the last rider in the time-trial heats and knew she had to do something special to win the event.
Meares, a 22-year-old part-time bank teller from North Queensland had the gauntlet thrown down by England's world champion Victoria Pendleton, who clocked a Games-record time in the penultimate heat.
Waiting in the middle of the track Anna let out a quiet expletive and resolved to ride even faster.
"I don't want to repeat what I thought, 'gosh' might be a nice way of putting it," Meares said after the race.
Meares is a big meet performer and was in front of the clock all the way, riding home on a storm of support from the packed stand.
At 7.39pm she crossed the line, the scoreboard clock at the Melbourne velodrome stopped at 34.326seconds, then flashed red to record the second Games record ride in a matter of minutes.
Australia had its first gold and everybody could breathe a little easier. Meares had beaten Pendleton by a blink, although the official time recorded the gap as a fractional 0.336sec.
"That's really cool. That's awesome," Meares said when told she was Australia's first gold medal winner of the games.
"The crowd was going pretty wild so I didn't really see the time until I was over on the back straight.
"The crowd was so far over the fence, that's when I caught a glimpse of my time and I am so, so happy with that.
"While the race was on I didn't see or hear anything but the crowd, but the first thing I wanted to do once the race over was go and point or acknowledge the crowd."
Anna's elder sister Kerrie took a bronze medal in the 500m time-trial and the pair embraced at the end of the event.
The sisters from Far North Queensland were watched by parents Marilyn and Anthony, who had made their first trip outside the state to watch the pair compete in a major meeting.
The sisters' other siblings, Tracey and Scott, were also on hand with their partners. All wore green and gold Team Meares outfits.
"Mum and dad's made a lot of sacrifices for me and Kerrie and it was great that they could be here tonight, this pays them back in a way," Anna said.
"At international events I've always been really nervous, but tonight was the first in really four years where I been fully focused and in control of myself and my emotions, knowing that my friends and family are up in the stands and supporting me."
Meares said she and her sister would probably go back to the village and celebrate the gold and bronze with a hot chocolate and massage.
By rights Anna should not have been on the bike last night. In July she was diagnosed with multiple disc injuries and told to take 10 months off.
At one stage she could not even walk, but the young champion is made of tough stuff and decided after about eight weeks that rest was not for her. She went back to training and changed the way she rode to ease pressure on her back.
Meares has spent as much time on the physio table as the track of late, missing the time trial in the recent national championships because of the injury concerns. She surprised herself and earned a big hug from Australia's track coach Martin Barras.
"I didn't even think I could get close to a 34 seconds tonight," a beaming Anna said after the race, "It is just a compliment to my coach Martin Barras and the support staff at Adelaide that I even got here.
"I didn't feel my back injury at all during that whole ride. I'll be sore tomorrow."
Meares said the Melbourne crowd had helped.
"It really does mean a lot to me," she said afterwards.
Meares won gold in the event at the Athens Olympics in world record time and bronze in the sprint. She already had Commonwealth bronze in the sprint from Manchester.
Unfortunately for both Meares' girls the 500m sprint has been dropped from Beijing in favour of a mountain bike event.
Her sister Kerrie, 23, was the reigning 500m time-trial gold medallist at Manchester but has since been caught by her younger sibling.
The elder Meares girl watched from the warm-down bike as her sister rode the last leg of the time-trial and was overjoyed with her performance, even if it meant she slipped from a silver to bronze.
Both had started riding in Middlemount, their parents making a 300km journey each weekend to allow them to compete.
The pair trains together and enjoy a supportive competitiveness.
The 500m sprint is fast, furious and unforgiving. Each rider is alone on the track with only the clock and her rivals times to compete against. Two flying laps and little more than half a minute later it's over. Blink and you miss it; the podium that is.
Anna's pre-race ritual involved spending the day painting Australian flags and manicuring her fingernails. Cycling coach Martin Barras insists his female riders hit the track wearing full make-up.
"Look good, feel good, go good," Barras explained. He was not joking.
Meares established the world record of 33.952sec in Athens under intense pressure as the last rider out. She needed a personal best to win and delivered.
The Australian