March 16, 2006 (Melbourne, Australia) — Anna Meares won Australia’s first Commonwealth Games gold medal in a somewhat family-orientated women’s 500m time trial at the Multi-Purpose venue in Melbourne.

Her time of 34.236 – good enough for a new Commonwealth Games record – beat Vicky Pendleton’s (England) 34.662 who took the silver, with Meares’ sister Kerrie finishing third in 35.210.

The two well-spoken Australians both climbed the track to greet their emotional parents after the medal ceremony. “Mum was speechless,” said Anna Meares. “She was fighting back the tears.”

“It was a fantastic night,” she continued. After recovering from a back injury which nearly saw her miss the Games, Meares added that returning to fitness had been “a long, hard road.”

“Mum and Dad don’t travel much,” said Kerrie Meares. “So for them to be here tonight was special.” Apparently their parents were unable to get tickets for the event through the usual balloting system, however a kind-hearted sponsor pulled a few strings to get them tickets for the night.

It was a good day for the host nation as Australia’s Ben Kersten won the men’s kilo, beating the champions from the two previous Olympics, Jason Quelly (England) and Chris Hoy (Scotland). Kersten’s time of 1:1.815 sent the partisan crowd into hysteria.

Setting off third last from a field of 11, the Australian national champion burst into tears when his victory was confirmed saying his win was unexpected. “It’s unreal,” said Kersten, “Being the underdog really motivated me. There’s no one better than (Quelly and Hoy) so I can’t believe I’ve beaten them.”

On top of the leader board for the first third of the race was Canadian Cameron McKinnon who set a time of 1:5.374 which eventually saw him finish sixth. Fellow Canuck, Yannick Morin, placed eighth in 1:7.62.

Canadians were also in action earlier in the evening at the men’s 4000m individual pursuit where Zach Bell posted a time of 4:31.83, good enough for 9th, two spots ahead of teammate Svein Tuft who had a time of 4:36.390 finishing 11th.

The event was won by England’s Paul Manning who beat teammate Rob Hayles with a time of 4:23.799. Rounding off a perfect one-two-three slam dunk for England was Steve Cummings in third at 4:24.767.

Race Notes

– Fiji entered three riders in the men’s Kilometre event, but only had one bike to use. A new, mid-range Avanti was their weapon of choice and they didn’t appear to alter the saddle height between riders. In good spirit, the crowd gave them a good shout and their best rider P Navalo recorded a time of 1:23.766.

– A cynical joke or just common sense? The velodrome’s toilets have a handy “syringe disposal unit” installed should any litter-conscious user require one.