Anna Maree Devenish Meares (born 21 September 1983) is an Australian retired track cyclist. She currently resides in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

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. 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 b ...

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. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

and

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. At the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships Meares took the gold in the

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

—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 (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, 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. In November 2022, she was appointed as the Chef de Mission of the Australian team for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Biography

Anna Meares started competitive cycling at the age of 11 in 1994, following her older sister

Kerrie Meares Kerrie Meares (born 4 September 1982 in Blackwater) is an Australian professional racing cyclist, and the older sister of Olympic Champion, Anna Meares. Kerrie and Anna watched the 1994 Commonwealth Games (that took place in Victoria, British ...

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

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

Middlemount Middlemount is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Middlemount had a population of 1,899 people. It is nicknamed the "Giant Peanut" by some locals du ...

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

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 an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, while her older sister,

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 (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, 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. Summer Olympics * Archery at the Summer Olympics, Archery (List of Olympic records in archery, li ...

set just minutes previously by the reigning World Record holder, Yonghua Jiang 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 receives ...

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

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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 (branded 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 is at Norman ...

, 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, 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 officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

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 officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

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

Victoria Pendleton Victoria Louise Pendleton (born 24 September 1980) is a British former Track cycling, track cyclist who specialised in the Sprint (cycling), sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Cycling at the Summer Olympics, Olympic, Wo ...

, 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 Krupeckaitė Simona Krupeckaitė (born 13 December 1982) is a Lithuanian former professional Track cycling, track cyclist. She is the UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's 500 m Time Trial, 2009 500 m Time Trial World Champion and World Record hol ...

'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

, 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 Krupeckaitė. 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, were 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 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 riders use a ...

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

Commentating

Anna Meares, Phil Liggett, and

Robbie McEwen Robbie McEwen (born 24 June 1972) is an Australian former professional road cyclist. He is a three-time winner of the Tour de France points classification in 2002, 2004 & 2006 and, at the peak of his career, was considered the world's fastest ...

co-hosted the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

broadcast of the 2023, 2024 & 2025 Santos Men's

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (currently branded as the Santos Tour Down Under for sponsorship reasons) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia. It is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and UCI Women’s WorldTour ...

used by

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

in the US.

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 an International airport, international, Domestic airport, domestic and general aviation airport serving Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Located approximately 6 km ...

was named after Meares in 2012. On 9 December 2016, Meares received the Key to the City of

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

. Meares has a velodrome in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

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, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was 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 Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

. 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 it is nicknamed the ...

Major results

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

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

;2003 :2nd Keirin, World Track Championships,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

;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,

:1st Sprint, Australian National Track Championships,

:1st Keirin, Australian National Track Championships,

: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 spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, 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 nav ...

:1st 500 m TT, Oceania Games,

;2006 :1st Sprint, Australian National Track Championships,

:2nd Keirin, Australian National Track Championships,

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

:2nd Sprint,

:2nd 500 m TT, World Track Championships,

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

: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 name is ...

, 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 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

– 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, 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,

:3rd Team Sprint,

:1st Sprint, Oceania Cycling Championships,

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

: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 Kaarle McCulloch), 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 The 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking is an overview of the UCI Track Cycling World Ranking, based upon the results in all Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI-sanctioned track cycling races of the 2009–10 track cycling season. Summary S ...

:1st Team sprint,

: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, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Sponsorship

Meares is sponsored by Uvex safety and by

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

References

External links