Mike O'Connor
On 20 August 2004, a 20-year-old Anna Meares announced herself on the world stage with one of the great performances in Australian track cycling history.
Competing at the Athens Olympics, the Queenslander lined up for the women’s 500m time trial with a chance to challenge for gold.
China’s Jiang Yonghua had set an Olympic record of 34.112 seconds in the previous ride, but Meares responded under enormous pressure, stopping the clock at 33.952 seconds to win gold by 0.160 seconds.
In doing so, she also broke Jiang’s world record of 34.000 seconds, set two years earlier.
The victory made Meares, who at the time was still working as a part-time bank teller, the first Australian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in track cycling and break the 34-second barrier, capping a remarkable rise for the young rider.
“The 2003 worlds was a big eye opener for me. That was the first time I really stood back and had the belief that I can really match it with these girls,” Meares said post-race.
“In the dry hot conditions of Athens you expect faster times but I never dreamed of a world record,” she said. “I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.”
In 2021, Meares elaborated on the overwhelming emotions of the exact moment when she crossed the line in an interview on the ABC’s Anh’s Brush with Fame.
The Athens victory was the beginning of an extraordinary Olympic career. Meares would go on to win six medals across four consecutive Games from 2004 to 2016, becoming the first — and still only — Australian athlete to win an individual medal at four consecutive Olympics.
Mike O’Connor – A keen cyclist, runner and photographer, Mike O’Connor is the Editor of Bicycling Australia. He manages the BA website and social media, and loves promoting the achievements of Australian cyclists.
