Author(s): Anna Meares

Sporting Biography

The Anna Meares Story is all about the grit and determination of a young woman who overcame major life-threatening trauma to realise what she had barely been able to dream about. Olympic track cyclist Anna experienced a career-stopping heavy fall during a time trial at the World Cup in Los Angeles in January 2008, less than eight months out from the Beijing Olympic Games. Falling on the hard, wooden velodrome floor at a speed of 65 kilometres an hour, she suffered a fractured neck, and a dislocated shoulder, torn ligaments. She was millimetres away from permanent injury. In this updated edition of Anna's story, read how, in March 2011, the Australian Cycling Team, spearheaded by Anna, enjoyed a record breaking week at Apeldoom in The Netherlands, powering to eight gold medals, three belonging to Anna! Finally, at the 2012 London Olympics, Anna took on her arch rival, Victoria Pendleton, to win gold.