Anna Maree Devenish Meares (born 21 September 1983) is an Australian retired

track cyclist Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

. She currently resides in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

where the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

's Track Cycling program has its headquarters at the

Adelaide Super-Drome The Adelaide Super-Drome is located at Adelaide, South Australia's State Sports Park, Main North Road, Gepps Cross. The Super-Drome was designed by Architect Carlo Gnezda and was opened in 1993. From 1993 the venue was managed and promoted by 1 ...

. She has been the 500 metre

track time trial The track time trial is a track cycling event where cyclists compete individually against the clock to record the fastest time over the specified distance from a standing start. Time trial bikes Track time trial bikes differ from normal track bik ...

world champion on four occasions, and a gold medallist at the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

and

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. At the

2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championships for track cycling in 2015. They took place in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (part of the Paris Metropolitan Area) at the Vélodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines from 18–22 ...

Meares took the gold in the

keirin – literally "racing cycle" – is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan around 1948 for gamblin ...

—her 11th world title in total, which made her the most decorated female track cyclist of all time. She was the flag-bearer and captain for the Australian team at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, where she won a bronze medal in keirin. This made her the first Australian to win individual medals in four consecutive Olympics. On 16 October 2016 Meares announced her official retirement from her current competitive cycling career.

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 Kathryn ("Kathy") Ann Watt (born 11 September 1964) is an Australian racing cyclist who won two medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain (gold in the road race, and silver in the pursuit). She has won 24 national championships i ...

winning a cycling gold medal at the

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...

. With the family living in the small Queensland coal-mining town of

Middlemount Middlemount is a rural town and locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Middlemount had a population of 1,841 people. It is nicknamed the "Giant Peanut" by some locals due to its peanut-shaped road layout. ...

, it was more than two hours drive to the nearest cycling track at

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

for the girls to train. Over the course of her career, Meares has talked about how gradually she became aware of her position as a role model, portraying "a different stereotypical image of what it is to be a strong woman. It's not always about being skinny. It's about your presentation and your confidence and everyone is unique." In February 2020 she gave birth to a daughter, Evelyn, with her partner Nick Flygger.

2002

In 2002 Meares narrowly missed a bronze medal in the inaugural inclusion of the 500-metre time trial at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, 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 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, 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 Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (list) ...

set just minutes previously by the reigning World Record holder,

Yonghua Jiang Jiang Yonghua (; born September 7, 1973 in Jixi, Heilongjiang) is a female Chinese track cyclist. She is a former world record holder for the Women's 500 m Time Trial, which was set on August 11, 2002 in Kunming with a time of 34.000 seconds ...

of China. (See

Cycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics consisted of 18 events in three disciplines: *Road cycling, held at the Athens historic centre (start and finish at Kotzia Square, for the road race events) and in Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre (for the time ...

). The event was abolished from the Olympic program so Meares could not defend her title in 2008. Meares also won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the Women's 200m Sprint event in Athens. In May 2004 at the Time Trial World Titles in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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 Central Queensland University (alternatively known as CQUniversity) is an Australian public university based in central Queensland. CQUniversity is the only Australian university with a campus presence in every mainland state. Its main campus ...

, 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. Meares crashed in the third round of the World Cup circuit in Los Angeles in January 2008, seven months out from the Olympics. Meares fractured her

C2 vertebra In anatomy, the axis (from Latin ''axis'', "axle") or epistropheus is the second cervical vertebra (C2) of the spine, immediately inferior to the atlas, upon which the head rests. The axis' defining feature is its strong odontoid process (bon ...

, dislocated her right shoulder, suffered torn ligaments and tendons, a heavily bruised right hip and skin abrasions as a result of skin sliding on wood when she crashed at 65 km/h. Astonishingly she was back on the bike just 10 days after the fall and went through intensive rehabilitation. With the points Meares had secured prior to the crash, she was able to fight her way back and qualify for the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

Meares had an eventful semi-final in the sprint at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. Having lost the first heat to her opponent

Guo Shuang Guo Shuang (郭爽, born February 26, 1986) is a Chinese professional track cyclist. She won two bronze medals at the 2006 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, in Sprint and Keirin, and two silver medals at the 2007 UCI Track Cycling World ...

, 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. This put Meares through to the final ride-off for gold against

Victoria Pendleton Victoria Louise Pendleton, (born 24 September 1980) is a British jockey and former track cyclist who specialised in the sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion. With two ...

, where she 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 start 200 metres. Meares completed her four 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 Lyubov Valeriyivna Basova, née Shulika ( uk, Любов Валеріївна Басова (Шуліка); born 16 July 1988), is a Ukrainian track cyclist. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's team sprint for the national ...

. In the

, Meares won both her qualifying races before reaching the final, where she held off Russian

Ekaterina Gnidenko Ekaterina Valeryevna Gnidenko (russian: Екатерина Валерьевна Гниденко; born 11 December 1992 in Tula) is a Russian track cyclist. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's sprint but was subsequently ...

and German

Kristina Vogel Kristina Vogel (born 10 November 1990) is a former German track cyclist. During her career, she won two gold medals and a bronze at the Olympic Games, and is an eleven-time UCI World Champion. She was paralysed following a crash in June 2018. ...

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. In preparation for the Olympics, Meares and her coach, West, tailored a 'Project Know Thy Enemy' program.Slot, O. (2012). Pendleton versus Meares. In E. Bacon & L. Birnie (Eds.), ''The Cycling Anthology Volume One'' (pp. 130-147). London: Yellow Jersey Press. The 'Project' involved Meares racing against male sprinter: Alex Bird; who would mimic Pendleton: former "friend" turned "enemy". The objective was to run multiple racing scenarios and find the best tactic to beat "Queen Vic". At the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, 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 controversially relegated after illegally moving off her line as the cyclists sped through the final banking, which many believe was as a result of Meares aggressive riding. Meares won the second sprint to win 2–0 and take the gold medal. When asked about her tactics, perceived as being unsporting, she responded: "this is sport ..We're not out there to have a cup of tea". She also won a bronze medal with

Kaarle McCulloch Kaarle McCulloch (born 20 January 1988) is an Australian former professional track cyclist and four time World Champion in the team sprint. She also won three golds at the Commonwealth Games and an Olympic bronze medal. She qualified for the Tok ...

in the

team sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The current men's ...

2013

Meares took rest after the 2012 Olympics and skipped the 2013 World Championship. She returned to competitions in July 2013. Later that year she set a new world record of 32.836 seconds in the women's 500 m time trial at the UCI Mexico Track World Cup, making her the first woman to go under 33 seconds in the event.

2015–16

In late February 2015, Meares competed at the world championships and won three medals. She also separated from her husband of nine years, Mark Chadwick, early in 2015. At the 2016 Rio Olympics Meares took part in three events. She won a bronze medal in the

, placing tenth in the individual sprint and fourth in the

Honours

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

(AIS) Athlete of the Year in 2007 and 2011 and 2011 inducted into the AIS 'Best of the Best'. Between 2004 and 2012 she has been named Australian Elite Female Track Cyclist of the Year seven times, she also became Australian Cyclist of the Year in 2008 and 2012. She served as the Australian flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. The Anna Meares Bike Path adjacent to Sir Donald Bradman Drive near

Adelaide Airport Adelaide Airport , also known as Adelaide International Airport, is the principal airport of Adelaide, South Australia and the List of the busiest airports in Australia, fifth-busiest airport in Australia, servicing 8.5 million passenger ...

was named after Meares in 2012. On 9 December 2016, Meares received the

Key to the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

. Meares has a velodrome in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

named after her. It is called the Anna Meares Velodrome and it was opened on 12 November 2016. It was an official venue for the track cycling at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. In 2021, inducted into

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

. Meares is a worldwide ambassador for the

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...

Major results

;2001 :1st 500 m TT, World Track Championships – Juniors ;2002 :3rd Sprint,

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

;2003 :2nd Keirin, World Track Championships,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

;2004 :1st 500 m TT, World Track Championships,

:2nd Sprint, World Track Championships,

:1st Sprint, Sydney :1st Gold medal

500 m TT,

:3rd

Sprint,

;2005 :1st 500 m TT,

Australian National Track Championships The Australian National Track Championships are held annually and are composed of competitions of various track cycling disciplines across various age, gender and disability categories. Men Senior Team Pursuit Team Sprint Madison Junior ...

:1st Sprint,

:1st Keirin,

:1st Sprint, Sydney :1st Keirin, Sydney :2nd 500 m TT, World Track Championships, Los Angeles :3rd Sprint, World Track Championships, Los Angeles :1st Sprint, Oceania Games,

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

:1st 500 m TT, Oceania Games,

;2006 :1st Sprint,

:2nd Keirin,

:1st Sprint, Sydney :1st 500 m TT,

:2nd Sprint,

:2nd 500 m TT, World Track Championships,

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

:1st 500 m TT,

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, Sydney :1st Team Sprint,

, Sydney ;2007 :1st 50 m TT, World Track Championships,

Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...

– New World Record :3rd Team Sprint, World Track Championships,

:3rd Sprint, World Track Championships,

:3rd Keirin, World Track Championships,

:1st Sprint,

, Los Angeles :2nd Team Sprint,

, Los Angeles :1st 500 m TT,

, Sydney :1st Team Sprint,

, Sydney :2nd Sprint,

, Sydney :1st Keirin,

, Sydney :3rd Sprint,

:3rd Team Sprint,

:1st Sprint, Oceania Cycling Championships,

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

:2nd Sprint, Sydney :1st 500 m TT, Sydney ;2008 :1st Sprint, SWE Grand Prix :2nd Silver medal

Sprint,

:2nd Sprint, GP von Deutschland im Sprint ;2009 :1st 500 m TT, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics,

:1st Team Sprint (with

), 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics,

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

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

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

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

;2010 :1st 500 m TT, 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking :1st Team sprint, 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking :1st 500 m TT,

:1st Team Sprint,

:1st Individual Sprint,

;2011 :1st 500 m TT, 2010–11 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking :1st Keirin, 2010–11 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking ;2012 :1st Keirin World Track Championships, Melbourne :1st 500 m TT World Track Championships, Melbourne (33.010sec world record) :3rd Sprint World Track Championships, Melbourne (Qualifying 10.782sec world record) :3rd Bronze medal

Team Sprint,

:1st

Sprint,

;2013 :Melbourne Cup on Wheels ::1st Sprint ::2nd Keirin ;2014 :

::1st

500m Time Trial ::2nd Silver medal

Sprint :Adelaide Cycling Grand Prix ::1st Keirin ::3rd Sprint :Austral ::1st Sprint ::2nd Keirin :2nd

500m Time Trial UCI World Track Championships :Oceania Track Championships ::2nd

Keirin ::2nd

Sprint :3rd Keirin, South Australian Track Classic ;2015 :1st Keirin, World Track Championships,

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207. Keirin,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Sponsorship

Anna Meares is currently sponsored by Uvex safety and Toshiba

References

External links