Wiasak takes silver, sets sights on Tokyo
Rebecca Wiasak is refusing to give up hope of breaking into Australia's talent-stacked pursuit team after yet another dose of heartbreak in her Commonwealth Games debut.
Overlooked for Australia's successful team pursuit the day before, Wiasak left her compatriots in the shade in qualifying at Anna Meares Velodrome to make it to the final.
But she had to be content with individual silver after taking the fight up to Scottish favourite Katie Archibald in a taxing 3000m ride-off.
The two-time individual pursuit world champion was an unlucky omission from the team that lapped New Zealand on the way to gold at on Thursday.
She was also last one cut ahead of the Rio Olympics before the squad crashed in training and eventually finished fifth.
Wiasak said she was "bitterly disappointed" watching her teammates on TV and admitted she felt a little hurt again in missing out on her own gold medal.
"I get very emotional, so there were tears (last night) when I saw the girls on the podium knowing that it could have been me and Georgia (Baker) up there," she told AAP.
"I've been in that position so many times before."
Wiasak, 33, controlled the middle stages but fell away late to Archibald, who finished nearly 1.5 seconds ahead.
"I was just looking at the gold medal on the tray and I thought, it would have been so nice... but silver is still significant," she said.
"It was close, not good enough but whenever you have those disappointments, it keeps you hungry."
Fellow Aussie Annette Edmondson took bronze ahead of Australian teammate Ashlee Ankudinoff.
But Wiasak, a former track and field athlete and sports journalist, said she would try again to break into the team for Tokyo 2020, with the individual pursuit not included on the Olympic program.
"I still feel really young in terms of track cycling," she said.
"There's still elements that I can improve, which is exciting. It's another two-year commitment, which I'm prepared to make.
"We do have a great environment around us now in Adelaide. Hopefully they continue to support us through to Tokyo.
"I'm committed if they are."
