This was published 11 years ago
Anna Meares: Australia's golden girl of cycling
Australian cycling's comeback queen Anna Meares is still going strong after 12 years at the top level.
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Meares burst onto the scene in 2002 at the Manchester Commonwealth Games with a bronze medal in the sprint. Her sister Kerrie took home gold.
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Showing no sign of nerves, Meares triumphed in the 500m time trial at her first Olympic Games in Athens.
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The feeling of elation is something she would get familar with as her career progressed.
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Two years later, she again shared the podium with sister Kerrie, this time winning gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
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It was a moment the sisters were able to share with their parents, Anthony and Marilyn, in an emotional track-side embrace.
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Meares was at her most inspirational in 2008 after breaking her neck and dislocating her shoulder in an accident during a World Cup meet in LA in January. The harrowing injuries put her Olympic dream in jeopardy.
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Incredibly, she was back on the bike just 10 days after the 65km/h crash and managed to qualify for Beijing.
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She finished a heartbreaking second to Great Britain rival Victorian Pendelton at the Olympics after a tough tussle with Chinese rider Guo Shuang, who crashed in their semi-final.
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It was a different story two years later at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi where Meares walked away with three gold medals, a silver and a bronze.
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