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In the sixth of our series of exclusive interviews with some of the world’s best athletes, the Australian talks about becoming the most successful woman in her sport
After twice considering retirement, Meares is preparing for her fourth Olympic Games (Getty Images/Michael Regan)
When it comes to women on two wheels, you don’t get much faster than Anna Meares. The Australian became the most successful female track cyclist of all time in February, when she powered to her 11th world title. At 31, and with five Olympic medals from three Games, some people in her bicycle clips would opt for life in a slower lane. But not Meares. Not when the Rio 2016 Olympic Games are around the next bend.
“The Olympics are a very rare opportunity to perform on the grandest stage of them all. The Olympics are the pinnacle,” Meares told rio2016.com in an exclusive interview. “I may have won more races than most, but I know how rare those wins are, and how hard you have to work.
“In my life I’ve only been to three Games... looking at four. Whilst that’s more than most, in the space of a lifetime it’s so beautifully rare. And I want to experience as many of those beautiful rare moments as I can.”
Perhaps Meares’s keen grasp on life’s value is a result of the horrific accident she suffered in January 2008. Competing at a World Cup race in Los Angeles, she crashed and fractured a vertebrae in her neck and dislocated her shoulder. She returned home in neck-brace and wheelchair, with few giving her a chance of making that August’s Beijing Olympic Games.
But compete she did, adding a silver medal in the individual sprint to the 500m time trial gold she had won at Athens 2004. She had also taken bronze in the sprint in Athens and completed the series with gold in the event at London 2012, where she also won bronze in the team sprint.
But it was at this year’s world championships in Paris where Meares cemented her place out in front of her rivals, wining an 11th gold medal, in the keirin event. This moved her one ahead of her idol, the great Frenchwoman Felicia Ballanger.
“I was very proud,” she said. “However, I benefited from a sport that has been growing and becoming more equal between men and women. Felicia Ballanger won 10 world titles in five years, with only two events at her disposal. I have taken twice as long with double the opportunity to do so. Felicia also holds three Olympic golds, one more than me.”
At the London 2012 Games, the British cycling team ruled the track, winning seven of the 10 gold medals up for grabs. Meares took one of the three non-host nation golds, coming out on top in one of the biggest rivalries of the Games, between her and British cycling pin-up Victoria Pendleton, who had beaten her in the Beijing sprint. Meares has been reluctant to play up their rivalry, preferring to focus on what it means for her sport.
“To have such a spotlight on women’s track cycling due to the rivalry between Victoria and me – and our skill – makes me proud,” she said. “I am so grateful that my name will forever be intertwined with hers. It was two women colliding at the top of their game and the best thing is that we both left London, after the most intense pressure and hype, with gold medals (Pendleton won keirin gold).”
Meares took a year off after London and, after a difficult start to her return, is now in the final year of a three-year plan for Rio. The final 12 months will be intense, with qualification to be secured before ensuring she arrives in Brazil in top shape. She said her targets were “very private” but it is safe to presume they involve more gold. “Just know I always aim high,” she says.
Although Meares has not yet been to Rio, she expects the Games to be “colourful and fun, with lots of energy and excitement”. And she predicted that travelling Australian fans would add to the atmosphere, saying: “Rio is one of the most exotic destinations in the world. Combine that with one of the biggest sporting events in the world and you have a cocktail that Aussies will love.”
Back at home, the time difference means there will be some bleary eyes in Australian workplaces during the Games. “I love the stories people have shared with me about watching my races in the wee hours of the morning, jumping on their couch and screaming at the TV,” she said.
Meares considered retiring after the Beijing and London Games, but she is not prepared to rule out a fifth Olympic Games, in Tokyo in 2020. “I will retire one day, when I am not exactly sure,” she said. “If I start thinking about retirement, then I could lose focus on working hard today. I've never looked past an Olympic cycle until I’ve completed it. There won’t be any change in that.”
Check out the first five interviews in this series, with Chad le Clos, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sardar Singh, Carli Lloyd and Serginho.
