Cycling Great Inspires Coaches and Athletes

Coaches and athletes participating in the Australian Open Championships in Adelaide in December were treated to an extremely interesting and inspiring talk from Anna Meares, Athens Olympic cycling gold medallist.

She spoke about her experience recovering from a horrendous crash and how she and her coach worked through her rehabilitation. Initially her big fear was that her coach would not believe she could indeed recover from the accident in time for Olympic selection particularly when all she could move at the time was one arm.

Seven months out from the Beijing Olympics, Anna had crashed out in a race in the US which resulted in a fractured C2 vertebra, a dislocated shoulder, torn ligaments and tendons, a heavily bruised right hip and skin abrasions as the result of skin sliding on wood when she crashed at 65km/hr.  She was a mere 2mm from needing the support of a respirator to breathe for the rest of her life.

Her determination to gain selection in her second Olympic Games team meant she was back on a revised bike within ten days of flying home.  She had only four and a half months before having to undergo an individual fitness test to prove her fitness for the team – a hard, painstaking and often frustrating slog.  She gained selection and won a silver medal in Beijing to go with her gold from Athens. What  an amazing athlete!

From her experiences during this time Anna said she learnt some very important lessons:

PATIENCE – to deal with the day to day issues and a need for calmness to make good decisions

GRATITUDE -  for what she had and what she did and for the support around her

TRUST IN OWN ABILITY – to never give up the dream despite the odds and what others may think

COMMUNICATE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING – to acknowledge what you gain each day and what you are prepared to commit to

ATTENTION TO DETAIL – everything that can be done needs to be done. Anything that can contribute to your goal no matter how minimal it may seem

ONE CAN ONLY HAVE AN EFFECT ON THINGS ONE HAS CONTROL OVER – over own actions, training, recovery, nutrition, sleep, attitude etc

MORE APPRECIATION OF THE “NOW” – give credit for all achievements no matter how little. Don’t think of the gap between where you are now and what has to be done, but focus on what you achieve day by day and acknowledge the progress

Anna also spoke about the importance of the coach/athlete relationship and, in particular, the difficulties experienced by both coach and athlete when she had to change coach prior to a World Championships. It took nearly 18 months before the relationship was working really efficiently and needed honest communication between both parties.

It was an entertaining presentation enjoyed by both coaches and athletes and later Anna posed for photographs with some of the athletes attending.