Australia’s sporting Queen
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Australian sprint cycling superstar Anna Meares said she dreamt she would win her 11th world title in France and she would meet legendary French cyclist Felicia Ballanger.
On Monday morning, Australian time, Meares eclipsed Ballanger’s record of 10 world titles and now can be known as the world’s greatest ever women’s sprint cyclist, and she didn’t even claim the record in her pet event – the 500m time trial.
Meares’s career now includes two Olympic gold medals, seven Commonwealth Games medals and more than 30 Australian titles to add to her 11 world titles.
She sent rival British rider Victoria Pendleton into retirement after winning the sprint in straight sets at the London Olympics.
I‘m a big fan of watching the cycling when it’s televised at the Olympic or Commonwealth Games and with the beauty of live streaming we can catch world title races even at all hours.
There’s always plenty of drama with the mix of speed, power and mind games on show.
The Pendleton-Meares rivalry was amazing at London along with Sally Pearson; she was the best ambassador for Australian sports during that less-than-stellar performance by the team.
What makes her story better is the fact her career was within millimetres of ending after a crash at World Cup meet in 2008.
She suffered a fractured vertebra near the base of her skull, dislocated her shoulder, tore ligaments and tendons and bruised her hip, and returned to Australia in a wheelchair but inexplicably she was back on her bike in 10 days.
Following rehab she returned as good as
she ever was, and now the rest, as they say, is history.
Five years too late?
The long-awaited bout between welterweight champions Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather and Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao has finally been agreed upon.
The fight is set for May 2 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and it’s estimated that gates takings will total about $40 million, in US dollars, so whatever the outcome, both will be close to the top highest paid athlete charts this year (Floyd was last year’s highest earner with a cool $105 million).
Bob Arum of Top Rank, the co-promoter of the fight, said “nobody is going to get these tickets without paying for them” to ESPN 1100.
Celebrities, who were expecting free entry, eat your heart out!
Join the rest of us your local club or pub and pick a side.
The undefeated Mayweather surely has to be a favourite after Pacquiao was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez.
But Manny has hands just as fast as Mayweather and more than 90 million ravenous Pilipino fans will be riding every blow with him.
For boxing fans it’s the closest you can get to the legendary Ali-Frazier or Ali-Foreman fights.
It’s going to be a beauty.
Gayle makes his mark
The West Indies Cricket Board president Dave Cameron has to be glad he’s not the chairman of selectors.
He called for Gayle’s retirement after his failed innings against Pakistan on Saturday.
Three days later Gayle became the first man to hit 200 at World Cup and was part of the highest partnership ever recorded in one-day international cricket.
I left the office and Gayle was about to pass 140 and by the time I flicked Fox Sports on at home he had just hit 200.
The West Indian party boy hadn’t hit a century since 2013 and I was getting a bit discouraged with each new failure.
However, you can never write off a legendary hitter and the paltry attack of Zimbabwe made it all the more easier.
His first hundred took 105 balls and the second took just 33 – two balls less than AB De Villiers’ record he set against the West Indies recently.
His eye would have been in but have you seen the size of his bat?
Already 30-odd overs in to an innings his forearms must have felt like dead weight.
I watched the replay of his potential first ball dismissal.
Had the umpire given him out and Gayle reviewed it, he would have been out.
But as the law stands he survived and aren’t we lucky.
I wonder where the well-known party boy ended up after the match.
Finals preview
Tomorrow, the best clash of the World Cup, so far, will take place at Eden Park.
The red-hot Kiwis face an Australian team which hasn’t played in a fortnight.
It’s the biggest clash between the two sides in my lifetime and I’m still backing both these teams to make the final.
There are world class bowlers on each side but can the tiny ground handle the hitting power of both sides?
If the white ball swings consistently then it’ll be trouble for both batting sides but I think the Australians’ pace should help them more.
The Australian batsmen looked nervous in the first over or two against England but I doubt it will be the case in Auckland.
Finch played a fine knock but all the talk has been about Warner and his ability to destroy a bowler, literally and figuratively. I hope both sides grab the bull by the horns and really give the crowd, and fans at home, something memorable. I hope both sides grab the bull by the horns and really give the crowd, and fans at home, something memorable.