Pendleton Has The Final Say

The Sunday Age

Sunday March 19, 2006

By MARTIN BLAKE

ON a night when the Empire struck back at the Melbourne Park velodrome, England's supreme sprinter Vicki Pendleton split the flying Meares sisters on the dais in the Commonwealth Games women's sprint.

World champion Pendleton edged out Anna Meares in three races in the final, all hard-fought and close, thus reversing the order of the 500-metre time trial on Thursday, which Meares had won.

Kerrie Meares won bronze last night, eliminated earlier by her sibling in the semi-finals in the cruellest of twists.

Pendleton's dazzling morning qualifying run of 11.275 seconds for the flying 200 metres, a Games record, ensured that the Queensland sisters would have to ride off against each other in a semi-final, a race that had a life of its own.

The pair actually touched shoulders immediately after the start of their second semi-final race, and it had to be restarted after Kerrie, trying a track-stand manoeuvre in the home straight, touched the outside fence with her front wheel.

"If she (Kerrie) hadn't given me a nudge I was planning on giving her one," Anna Meares joked afterwards. "It's one thing I've had to learn to do, is get my head around the fact I'm racing my sister. I go out there with the mindset that I'm racing this chick from Australia.

"Sometimes it's hard racing your sister because you know if you end up coming out on top, you're the one that's stopping her from achieving. At the same time on the other side of the brain, the devil side is going: 'I'm so glad that I beat her'."

Ultimately Anna prevailed in two straight semi-final races to book the meeting with the 24-year-old Pendleton in the final.

The Englishwoman had to contend not only with an in-form Meares but a partisan crowd, yet her class shone through. She ducked under Meares at the bell in the first race and held on to win by a few centimetres, before Meares pipped her in the second. In the decider, Pendleton reeled in Meares on the line and raised a fist in the air.

Pendleton said she had known she was in for a tough meeting against the Meares sisters. "I found out the hard way," she said afterward. "The second race was best forgotten. They're very good tactically and technically. You've got to expect that."

Both Meares sisters were happy, having endured a couple of years of injury concerns. Anna paid tribute to Pendleton.

"You've got to give the utmost respect to someone who wears those (world champion) rainbow jerseys. But with three photo-finishes and to take a round off her, I'm happy. I wanted the gold but I'm happy with silver.

"Hopefully at the world championships in three weeks I hope the placings are reversed. That's all I had tonight and I'm so happy with my performance."

Kerrie Meares said she could not have expected more, having won bronze in the time trial and the sprint. "Anna's just going so well. I did my absolute best. I nearly threw up after racing her the second round. I couldn't ask for any more. I've got some work to do to catch up to this chick."

WOMEN'S SPRINT GOLD

Victoria Pendleton (Eng)

SILVER

Anna Meares (Aus)

BRONZE

Kerrie Meares (Aus)

© 2006 The Sunday Age

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