Anna Meares OAM
Anna Meares OAM
Olympic Cycling Champion. Chef de Mission 2024 Paris Olympics
Anna Meares is the most successful and decorated female track cyclist in history. She is the only athlete in Australian Olympic history, from any sport, to win individual medals at four consecutive Olympic Games.
In 2008, Anna suffered life-threatening injuries after a terrible accident in the third round of the World Cup circuit in Los Angeles. Doctors said she was two millimetres from being paralysed from the chin down. With nothing but true grit and determination Anna the “comeback queen” won gold in the Sprint at the 2012 London Olympics against long term rival Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain.
Anna was inspired to cycle when she watched Kathy Watt win a gold medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games. She began competitive cycling that same year at the age of just 11, following her older sister Kerrie into the sport. Weekend training involved driving more than 300km each way to the nearest cycling track in Mackay, Queensland.
Anna made steady progression to the upper ranks of Australian cycling, gaining many accolades along the way. Her achievements include Australian Junior Women’s Track Cyclist of the Year and selection for the 2002 Commonwealth Games team for Manchester. Four years later, Anna was honoured to be the nation’s flagger for the Rio Olympics. At these Games, Anna broke the 500m World record and won another world title, taking her career total to 11 World Championship crowns. She went on to win her sixth Olympic career medal, a bronze in the kern. This medal made Anna the only athlete in Australian Olympic history from any sport to win individual medals at four consecutive Olympic Games.
In May 2004, Anna became the world time trial champion at the World Titles in Melbourne, cementing her performance with gold at the World Cup in Sydney a few weeks later. At the Athens Olympics in 2004 Anna claimed her first Olympic gold medal in the 500m time trial, setting a new world record in the process. Only minutes earlier, Yonghua Jiang from China broke the existing record, meaning Anna had to better that new mark to get the gold.
In 2008, Anna suffered life-threatening injuries after a terrible accident in the third round of the World Cup circuit in Los Angeles. Doctors said she was two millimetres from being paralysed from the chin down. It was Anna’s dream to ride in Beijing and she was back on her bike just 10 days after her fall. With hard work, discipline and determination, she recovered enough to qualify a spot for Australia, then went on to win a silver medal just seven months later in the Women’s Individual Sprint, at that time, the only Olympic medal won by any Australian Cyclist in any cycling discipline.
Anna shifted her focus to the 2012 London Olympics, where she won gold in the Sprint against long term rival Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain. She also won a bronze medal won in the team sprint
Rio 2016 would see Anna win her final Olympic medal, a bronze in the keirin, her 6th career Olympic medal. After 22 years involved in the sport, 15 years of those representing Australia at the elite senior level, she retired the most decorated female athlete in the world with 11 world titles.
In 2018, Anna was inducted into the SA and QLD Sport Halls of Fame for sporting achievements and in 2021 she was awarded “legend” status in the SA Sport Hall of Fame 2021, the youngest ever to achieve this and was inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame 2021.
In retirement from sport Anna pursued many passions and interests including foster care, charitable endeavours and will be strongly present in the team for Australia in 2022 as the General Manger for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
She also joined the channel 7 expert commentary team for the Tokyo Olympics 2020/1, a position she has also filled for the Santos Tour Down Under since 2017.
Anna was appointed Chef de Mission of the Australian Olympic Team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Under Anna’s incredible leadership, Australia achived their best ever results at an Olympic Games.