Michael John McRedmond (born 1958) is a New Zealand cycling coach and former

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 a silver medal competing for his country at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the a ...

Early life

Born in

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; mi, Taniwaka, lit= or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is), is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New ...

in 1958, McRedmond grew up in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

and was educated at St Peter's College.

Cycling

Rider

McRedmond began competitive cycling after seeing the Tour of Manawatu cycle race, which had the finish of its final stage close to his family home. Without a natural talent for the sport, McRedmond says that he succeeded through hard work and perseverance: McRedmond represented New Zealand in the men's 1000 metres sprint at the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

. At the 1982 games 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 ...

, he advanced unbeaten to the final, where he lost 0–2 to the defending champion,

Kenrick Tucker Brian Kenrick Tucker (born 6 February 1959) is an Australian former cyclist. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los An ...

from Australia, and so won the silver medal. Four years later, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, McRedmond placed sixth in the same event. Domestically, McRedmond won the New Zealand national sprint title five times, and the national 15 kilometres scratch race title on three occasions. He later won a national Masters 80 kilometres road race championship.

Coach

After retiring from competitive cycling in 1986, McRedmond began coaching young cyclists in the 1990s. In about 2000, he started unpaid coaching at

Palmerston North Boys' High School Palmerston North Boys' High School is a traditional boys school located in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Location Palmerston North Boys' High School has a campus located on Featherston Street between Rangitikei and North Streets in the central ...

, where his protégés have included

Jesse Sergent Jesse Sergent (born 8 July 1988) is a retired New Zealand racing cyclist who rode professionally between 2011 and 2016 for , and . Career Born in Feilding, Sergent won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, as part of the New Z ...

Campbell Stewart Campbell Stewart (born 12 May 1998) is a New Zealand professional track and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He represented his country at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, gaining two silver medals in the scratch race and poin ...

, and

Simon van Velthooven Simon Paul van Velthooven (born 8 December 1988) is a New Zealand track racing cyclist and America's Cup sailor. Van Velthooven was born in Palmerston North in 1988. He has two younger sisters; his youngest sister, Emily, works as a journalist ...

. Between 2005 and 2010, he was the national junior track cycling head coach. McRedmond has received numerous accolades at the annual Manawatū Sportsperson of the Year Awards. He won the award for coach of the year in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, and 2015. In 2012, he was named Manawatū's sports personality of the year. In 2019, McRedmond was awarded a

Paul Harris Fellowship Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

by Milson Rotary, for services to cycling.

Working life

McRedmond had a 41-year career in banking, beginning in 1976. He subsequently took a position as new vehicle consultant with Manawatū Toyota.

Personal life

McRedmond and his wife, Natalie, have two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McRedmond, Mike 1958 births Living people Sportspeople from Dannevirke People educated at St Peter's College, Palmerston North New Zealand male cyclists Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Cyclists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling New Zealand sports coaches New Zealand track cyclists Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games