Anna Meares

Anna Maree Devenish Meares

She has been the 500 metre track time trial world champion on four occasions, and a gold medallist at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. At the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships Meares took the gold in the keirin—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, where she won a bronze medal in keirin.

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 into the sport.

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."

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.

Meares had an eventful semi-final in the sprint at the 2008 Summer Olympics. 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, 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'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 keirin, 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. 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, 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".

2013 Meares took rest after the 2012 Olympics and skipped the 2013 World Championship. She returned to competitions in July 2013.

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.

Honours In 2001 Meares was awarded the Australian Junior Women's Track Cyclist of the Year. She was voted Australian Institute of Sport (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. On 9 December 2016, Meares received the Key to the City of Rockhampton.

Meares has a velodrome in Brisbane 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.

In 2021, inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Meares is a worldwide ambassador for the Port Adelaide Football Club.

Major results

2001 1st 500 m TT, World Track Championships – Juniors

2002 3rd Sprint, Commonwealth Games, Manchester

2003 2nd Keirin, World Track Championships, Stuttgart

2004 1st 500 m TT, World Track Championships, Melbourne 2nd Sprint, World Track Championships, Melbourne 1st Sprint, Sydney

2005 1st 500 m TT, Australian National Track Championships, Adelaide 1st Sprint, Australian National Track Championships, Adelaide 1st Keirin, Australian National Track Championships, Adelaide 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 1st 500 m TT, Oceania Games, Wanganui

2006 1st Sprint, Australian National Track Championships, Adelaide 2nd Keirin, Australian National Track Championships, Adelaide 1st Sprint, Sydney 1st 500 m TT, Commonwealth Games, Melbourne 2nd Sprint, Commonwealth Games, Melbourne 2nd 500 m TT, World Track Championships, Bordeaux 1st 500 m TT, World Cup, Sydney 1st Team Sprint, World Cup, Sydney

2007 1st 50 m TT, World Track Championships, Palma de Mallorca – New World Record 3rd Team Sprint, World Track Championships, Palma de Mallorca 3rd Sprint, World Track Championships, Palma de Mallorca 3rd Keirin, World Track Championships, Palma de Mallorca 1st Sprint, World Cup, Los Angeles 2nd Team Sprint, World Cup, 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, World Cup, Manchester 3rd Team Sprint, World Cup, Manchester 1st Sprint, Oceania Cycling Championships, Invercargill 2nd Sprint, Sydney 1st 500 m TT, Sydney

2008 1st Sprint, SWE Grand Prix

2nd Sprint, GP von Deutschland im Sprint

2009 1st 500 m TT, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Manchester 1st Team Sprint (with Kaarle McCulloch), 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Manchester 3rd Keirin, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Manchester 1st 500 m TT, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Melbourne 1st Keirin, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Melbourne 3rd Team Sprint, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Melbourne

2010 1st 500 m TT, 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking 1st Team sprint, 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking 1st 500 m TT, Commonwealth Games 1st Team Sprint, Commonwealth Games 1st Individual Sprint, Commonwealth Games

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)

2013 Melbourne Cup on Wheels 1st Sprint 2nd Keirin 2014 Commonwealth Games

Adelaide Cycling Grand Prix 1st Keirin 3rd Sprint Austral 1st Sprint 2nd Keirin

Oceania Track Championships

3rd Keirin, South Australian Track Classic

2015 1st Keirin, World Track Championships, Yvelines Oceania Track Championships 1st Team Sprint 3rd Keirin 1st Keirin, South Australian Grand Prix 3rd Keirin, Super Drome Cup

2016 2nd Keirin, ITS Melbourne Grand Prix

Sponsorship Meares is sponsored by Uvex safety and by Toshiba.