Anna Meares

Anna Meares

Meares at the 2012 World Championships in Melbourne
Personal information
Full name	Anna Meares
Born	(1983-09-21) 21 September 1983 Blackwater, Australia
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	72 kg (159 lb)
Team information
Discipline	Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Medal record Competitor for Australia Track cycling Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens 500 m time trial Gold 2012 London Women's sprint Silver 2008 Beijing Women's sprint Bronze 2004 Athens Women's sprint Bronze 2012 London Women's team sprint Commonwealth Games Gold 2006 Melbourne 500 m Time Trial Gold 2010 Delhi 500 m Time Trial Gold 2010 Delhi Sprint Gold 2010 Delhi Team Sprint Silver 2006 Melbourne Sprint Bronze 2002 Manchester Sprint World Championships Gold 2004 Melbourne 500 m Time Trial Gold 2007 Palma de Mallorca 500 m Time Trial Gold 2009 Pruszków Team Sprint Gold 2010 Ballerup 500 m Time Trial Gold 2010 Ballerup Team Sprint Gold 2011 Apeldoorn Team Sprint Gold 2011 Apeldoorn Sprint Gold 2011 Apeldoorn Keirin Gold 2012 Melbourne Keirin Gold 2012 Melbourne Time Trial Silver 2002 Copenhagen Sprint Silver 2003 Stuttgart Keirin Silver 2004 Melbourne Sprint Silver 2005 Los Angeles 500 m Time Trial Silver 2009 Pruszków 500 m Time Trial Silver 2012 Melbourne Team sprint Bronze 2002 Copenhagen 500 m Time Trial Bronze 2005 Los Angeles Sprint Bronze 2007 Palma de Mallorca Sprint Bronze 2007 Palma de Mallorca Team Sprint Bronze 2007 Palma de Mallorca Keirin Bronze 2012 Melbourne Sprint
Infobox last updated on 8 August 2012

Anna Maree Meares, OAM (born 21 September 1983 in Blackwater, Queensland) is an Australian track cyclist.

She has been the 500 m track time trial world champion twice, and a gold medalist at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.

Biography

Anna Meares started competitive cycling at the age of 11 in 1994, following her older sister Kerrie Meares into the sport. The family were inspired to take up competitive cycling by Kathy Watt winning a cycling gold medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games. With the family living in the small Queensland coal-mining town of Middlemount, it was more than two hours drive to the nearest cycling track at Mackay for the girls to train.

2001

In 2001 Meares was awarded the Australian Junior Women's Track Cyclist of the Year.

2002

In 2002 Meares narrowly missed a bronze medal in the inaugural inclusion of the 500 metre time trial at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, while her older sister, Kerrie Meares won the gold medal in the event. She won a bronze medal in the sprint.

2004

During the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, she won a gold medal, and set a new world record in the Women's 500 metre time trial of 33.952 seconds. Meares had to beat a new Olympic record set just minutes previously by the reigning World Record holder, Yonghua Jiang of China. (See Cycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics). The event was abolished from the Olympic program so Meares could not defend her title in 2008. Meares also won a bronze medal in the Women's 200m Sprint event in Athens.

In May 2004 at the Time Trial World Titles in Melbourne Meares claimed the title of Women's World time trial champion, and won a silver for the sprint event. Also claimed first in the 2004 World Cup Time Trial in Sydney.

2005

In 2005, Meares enrolled in a Bachelor of Learning Design course at Central Queensland University, but deferred her studies to concentrate on sport.

2008

Meares made an astonishing come back from a very bad cycling accident at the World Cup in January 2008 when she broke her neck. But she fought her way back and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Meares at the 2008 Olympic homecoming parade in Adelaide

Meares had an eventful semi-final in the sprint at the 2008 Summer Olympics, having lost the first heat to her opponent Guo Shuang, she won the second heat. The third heat saw Guo come down the banking too steeply and her front wheel slipped from beneath her. The heat was re-run and although Guo won by a few millimetres, she was relegated for coming down the track and pushing Meares onto the côte d'azure on the final lap, Meares was lucky to keep her bicycle upright. This put her through to the final ride-off for gold against Victoria Pendleton, Meares was beaten and received the silver medal.

2012

At the 2012 World Championships which took place in Meares' home country of Australia in Melbourne, Meares was favourite for three gold medals. In the team sprint Meares' won silver as Germany set two world records in the event. In qualification for the individual sprint Meares broke the World Record for the flying 200 metres. Meares completed her 4 laps in just 10.782 seconds shaving 11 thousands of a second off Simona Krupeckaite's mark. In the semi final Meares faced her old rival Pendleton. Pendleton clashed with the Australian in their first heat and ended up on the floor before Meares was relegated from the second for going outside of her lane. In the decider Pendleton won in a photo finish, with Meares settling for bronze after defeating Lyubov Shulika. In the keirin, Meares won both her qualifying races before reaching the final, where she held off Russian Ekaterina Gnidenko and German Kristina Vogel to win the first of two world championships in Melbourne. Meares set her second world record of the championships in her final event. Meares recorded 33.010 seconds to break the record by .286 of a second which was previously held by Simona Krupeckaite. With the time Meares won her second title of the championships and equaled Felicia Ballanger's record of ten world titles.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Meares qualified for the final of the sprint, where she again faced Victoria Pendleton. In the first sprint of the final, Pendleton crossed the line first, but was relegated after illegally moving off her line as the cyclists sped through the final banking. Meares won the second sprint to win 2–0 and take the gold medal. She also won a bronze medal with Kaarle McCulloch in the team sprint.

Awards

Meares was Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Athlete of the Year in 2007 and 2011 and 2011 inducted into the AIS 'Best of the Best'.

Palmarès

2001

1st 500m TT, World Track Championships – Juniors

2002

3rd Sprint, Commonwealth Games, Manchester

2003

2nd Keirin, World Track Championships, Stuttgart

2004

1st 500m TT, World Track Championships, Melbourne

2nd Sprint, World Track Championships, Melbourne

1st Sprint, Sydney

1st 500m TT, Olympic Games

3rd Sprint, Olympic Games

2005

2nd Keirin, Los Angeles

1st 500m TT, Australian National Track Championships, Adelaide

1st Sprint, Australian National Track Championships, Adelaide

1st Keirin, Australian National Track Championships, Adelaide

1st Sprint, Sydney

1st Keirin, Sydney

2nd 500m TT, World Track Championships, Los Angeles

3rd Sprint, World Track Championships, Los Angeles

1st Sprint, Oceania Games, Wanganui

1st 500m TT, Oceania Games, Wanganui

2006

1st Sprint, Australian National Track Championships, Adelaide

2nd Keirin, Australian National Track Championships, Adelaide

1st Sprint, Sydney

1st 500m TT, Commonwealth Games, Melbourne

2nd Sprint, Commonwealth Games, Melbourne

2nd 500m TT, World Track Championships, Bordeaux

1st 500m TT, World Cup, Sydney

1st Team Sprint, World Cup, Sydney

2007

1st 500m TT, World Track Championships, Palma de Mallorca – New World Record

3rd Team Sprint, World Track Championships, Palma de Mallorca

3rd Sprint, World Track Championships, Palma de Mallorca

3rd Keirin, World Track Championships, Palma de Mallorca

1st Sprint, World Cup, Los Angeles

2nd Team Sprint, World Cup, Los Angeles

1st 500m TT, Australian National Track Championships, Sydney

1st Team Sprint, Australian National Track Championships, Sydney

2nd Sprint, Australian National Track Championships, Sydney

1st Keirin, Australian National Track Championships, Sydney

3rd Sprint, World Cup, Manchester

3rd Team Sprint, World Cup, Manchester

1st Sprint, Oceania Cycling Championships, Invercargill

2nd Sprint, Sydney

1st 500m TT, Sydney

2008

2nd Sprint, Olympic Games

2009

1st 500m TT, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Manchester

1st Team Sprint (with Kaarle McCulloch), 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Manchester

3rd Keirin, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Manchester

1st 500m TT, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Melbourne

1st Keirin, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Melbourne

3rd Team Sprint, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Melbourne

2010

1st 500m TT, Commonwealth Games

1st Team Sprint, Commonwealth Games

1st Individual Sprint, Commonwealth Games

2012

1st Keirin World Track Championships, Melbourne

1st 500M TT World Track Championships, Melbourne (33.010sec world record)

3rd Sprint World Track Championships, Melbourne (Qualifying 10.782sec world record)

3rd Team Sprint, Olympic Games

1st Sprint, Olympic Games

Sponsorship

Anna Meares is currently sponsored by Uvex safety and Toshiba

See also

• Sprint (cycling)
• Cycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics
• Toshiba

External links

• Anna Meares profile – Australian Cycling Federation
• Road To Beijing Diaries: Anna Meares, Track Cycling

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Philippe Rizzo Lydia Lassila	Australian Athlete of the Year 2007 (with Nathan Deakes) 2011	Succeeded by Ken Wallace and Heath Francis Alicia Coutts and Tom Slingsby