Bridie O'Donnell is a public servant, author, sports broadcaster, medical practitioner and former professional

road cyclist Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

. She represented Australia at the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2010 UCI Road World Championships The 2010 UCI Road World Championships took place in Geelong and Melbourne, Australia, over 5 days from 29 September to 3 October 2010. It was the 83rd UCI Road World Championships and the first time that Australia had held the event. Coincidenta ...

. O'Donnell was a medical practitioner and surgical assistant before taking up cycling, and later returned to medicine to work in

health assessment A health assessment is a plan of care that identifies the specific needs of a person and how those needs will be addressed by the healthcare system or skilled nursing facility. Health assessment is the evaluation of the health status by performi ...

. On 22 January 2016 O'Donnell broke the Women's

Hour record The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious record ...

at the

Adelaide Super-Drome The Adelaide Super-Drome is a velodrome 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 ...

. She rode 46.882 kilometres, exceeding the distance set by Molly Shaffer Van Houweling the previous September by 609 metres.

Post cycling career

O'Donnell is a medical doctor, graduating from the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

's school of medicine in 1998, and was appointed the inaugural head of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation for the Victorian State Government in 2017. She was employed by Australian TV network

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...

(SBS) as a commentator for the

2020 Tour de France The 2020 Tour de France was the 107th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on 27 June 2020, it was postponed until 29 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The race began ...

, the first woman to do so for SBS. She has continued to commentate on every Tour de France since. In May 2021 O'Donnell was appointed to the board of the

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

. She came under fire for being a

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

supporter and not having been a club member for the required two years. She resigned after four months after accepting a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

response role with the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

. In November 2021 she was inducted onto the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. It was launched by The Hon. Joan Kirner AC as a joint initiative of the Centenary of Federation Victoria Comm ...

Major results

;2007 : 1st OceaniaChampionJersey

Time trial, Oceania Road Championships : 2nd

Chrono des Nations Chrono des Nations – Les Herbiers Vendée is a single-day individual time trial road bicycle race held annually in October in Les Herbiers, Vendée, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It was origi ...

: 7th

Chrono Champenois – Trophée Européen The Chrono Champenois is a European individual time trial bicycle race held around Bétheny in France, in the Champagne region. The race has been organised as a 1.2 event since 1989 for women's and since 1998 there is also a men's race which is ...

;2008 : 1st MaillotAustralia

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Road Championships : 4th

: 10th

Memorial Davide Fardelli Memorial Davide Fardelli — Cronometro Individuale was a women's senior and men's under-23 time trial cycle race which took place in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western ...

;2009 : 1st OceaniaChampionJersey

Time trial, Oceania Road Championships (January) : Oceania Road Championships (November) ::1st OceaniaChampionJersey

Road race ::3rd Time trial : 2nd Overall Tour de PEI : 5th

Chrono Champenois The Chrono Champenois is a European individual time trial bicycle race held around Bétheny in France, in the Champagne region. The race has been organised as a 1.2 event since 1989 for women's and since 1998 there is also a men's race which i ...

: 7th

;2010 : National Road Championships ::2nd Road race ::2nd

: 8th

;2011 : Oceania Road Championships ::2nd Silver medal blank