Kathryn ("Kathy") Ann Watt (born 11 September 1964) is an Australian
racing cyclist
Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing ...
who won two medals at the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
in Barcelona, Spain (gold in the road race, and silver in the pursuit).
She has won 24 national championships in road racing, track racing, and mountain bike, four
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 ...
gold medals, and came third in the world time trial championship. She was made a life member o
Blackburn Cycling Clubin 1990. She was an
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 ...
scholarship holder.
The daughter of marathoner
Geoff Watt, Kathy Watt turned first to running, winning the national junior 3 km championship. She began to train on a bike after
achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...
problems. For a while, she competed in duathlon (running and cycling), but found she was a better cyclist than runner.
In 1996, Watt was in a legal dispute with the
Australian Cycling Federation
Cycling Australia (CA), the trading name of the Australian Cycling Federation Inc, was the national governing body for bicycle racing in Australia, and represented the interests of affiliated cycling clubs and State federations. It covered the d ...
over who would race the pursuit in the Olympic Games. Watt had been told that she would be but was replaced a few days before the event by
Lucy Tyler-Sharman. Watt appealed to the International
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...
, claiming a breach of contract. The court ordered Watt to be reinstated in the race.
In 2000, Watt again became involved in a controversy over a selection, but this time she was not successful in her appeal to the CAS.
She retired after 2000 but came back three years later but was not successful in an attempt to qualify for the 2004 Olympics. After another retirement, Watt worked as a coach and personal trainer. However, she made another comeback to qualify for the
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
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 ...
, where she won a silver medal in the
time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...
. In January 2006, she won the time trial section of the Australian open road championship in Buninyong,
Ballarat
Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...
.
Watt holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
, with a major in physiology and pathology. She studied nutrition, anatomy, and physiotherapy. She attended Tintern Church of England Girls' Grammar, now
Tintern Grammar
, motto_translation = By deeds not words
, established = 1877
, type = Independent, co-educational
, denomination = Anglican
, slogan =
, principal = Brad ...
.
In 2015, she was an inaugural
Cycling Australia Hall of Fame inductee.
Palmarès
Source:
;1990
:Commonwealth Games
::Road Race – 1st
::Track Pursuit – 2nd
:Giro d'Italia
::Final Overall GC – 3rd
::1 stage victory
;1992
:Olympic Games
::Road Race – Gold Medal
::3 km Pursuit (track) – Silver
:
![MaillotAustralia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/MaillotAustralia.PNG)
Australian Road Race Championships – 1st
;1994
:Giro d'Italia
::Final Overall GC – 2nd
::3 stage victories
:Giro del Piave – 1st
:Canberra Stage Race
::Final Overall GC – 1st
::5 stage victories
;1995
:World Time Trial Championship – 3rd
;1996
:
![MaillotAustralia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/MaillotAustralia.PNG)
Australian Championships
::Road Race – 2nd place
::Time Trial – 1st place
;1997
:Oceania Championships
::Road Race – 2nd place
::Time Trial – 1st place
;1998
:World Time Trial Championship – 6th
:GP des Nations Time Trial – 2nd
:Grande Boucle (Tour Cycliste Féminin)
::stage 12b – 3rd
:Tour Féminin de Bretagne
::Overall – 2nd
::Prologue – 2nd
::stage 1 – 1st
::stage 5 – 2nd
:Grazia Tour
::Overall – 2nd
::stage 2 – 2nd
::stage 3 – 3rd
::stage 4 – 1st
:Tour de l'Aude
::Overall – 7th
::Prologue (Gruissan) – 2nd
::stage 5 (Castelnaudary TT)- 2nd
::stage 6a (Axat to Belcaire) – 2nd
:GP Presov and Pravda
::Overall – 1st
::stage 1 (TT) – 1st
::stage 2 (Criterium) – 2nd
::stage 3 (Road Race) – 3rd
::stage 4 (Road Race) – 3rd
;1999
:Tour de 'Toona
::Overall – 2nd
::stage 2 – 3rd
::stage 4 – 2nd
::stage 5 – 1st
:Grazia Tour
::Overall – 7th
::stage 3 – 3rd
:Women's Challenge
::stage 4 (Sun Valley Time Trial) – 5th
::stage 9 (Burley to Buhl) – 2nd
:Tour de Snowy
::stage 5 – 3rd
;2005
:Chrono Champenois – 1st
:GP International Feminin Bretagne (cat. 2) – 2nd GC
:Thuringen-Rundfahrt (cat. 1) – stage
;2006 (
Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam)
:Commonwealth Games
::Individual road time trial – 2nd
::Australian Open Road Championship Time Trial – 1st
;2007
:Australian Open Road Championship
::Time Trial – 2nd
::Road Race – 9th
: 1st Overall
Tour de Perth
The Tour de Perth is an amateur road bicycle racing stage-race in Australia, established in 2006. There was a women's stage race between 2007 in women's road cycling, 2007 and 2009 in women's road cycling, 2009.
Honours Men's
Women's
Sou ...
;2008
: Australian Open Road Championship
::Time Trial – 4th
::Road Race – 19th
References
External links
Kathy Watt's web siteAOC Kathy Watt profileLeunig & Farmer Eyecare
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Kathy
1964 births
Living people
Olympic gold medalists for Australia
Australian Institute of Sport cyclists
Australian female cyclists
Olympic cyclists of Australia
Cyclists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Cyclists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Cyclists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games
Cyclists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
Cyclists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
Cyclists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Sportswomen from Victoria (Australia)
Olympic medalists in cycling
Cyclists from Melbourne
Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for Australia
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia
Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling
Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees