To mark 100 days from the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Nine.com.au asked you what your favourite Olympic memories were in a survey. The response was overwhelming! We chose 50 of them to re-live, one a day, before new memories are made in Paris. Scroll on for today’s memory.
The fierce tension was palpable as Australian track cycling champion Anna Meares and British arch-rival Victoria Pendleton met on the velodrome for the sprint final at the London 2012 Olympics.
Meares and Pendleton had fought many intense duels in recent years, including at the Beijing 2008 Games when Meares took her on just seven months after breaking her neck in a horrific cycling crash. On that occasion, Pendleton won gold and Meares collected silver.
At the London Games, Meares was up against “Queen Victoria”, as the British press had dubbed Pendleton, and the crowd at the velodrome was parochial in its support of the local.
Watch the video at the top of the page to see Anna Meares’ lethal gold-winning moment at the London 2012 Olympics!
The tension heightened in the moments that followed the first race of the final. Pendleton had crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified because referees deemed the local had moved illegally off her line. Biased in its reporting, the British media claimed that Meares had forced Pendleton off her line with overly aggressive riding. Regardless, Meares had a 1-0 lead.
Anna Meares taking on Victoria Pendleton at the London 2012 Olympics. Getty Images
A pulsating cat-and-mouse battle ensued in race two. Pendleton did not want the lead with two laps remaining, but Meares forced her to take the lead by virtually coming to a standstill.
Then, with a devastating burst of speed on the final bend, Meares, who had been stalking her arch-rival like a tiger, ripped the lead from “Queen Victoria” and rocketed over the finish line to win gold.
The beloved Australian, a product of the small Queensland mining town of Middlemount, punched the air with delight.
Cruising around the track, Meares and Pendleton connected hands in a sign of mutual respect.
“I’d been practising that move, and saving it,” said Meares, who’d mastered the strategy in training battles with national teammate Alex Bird.
Anna Meares with her London 2012 gold medal. Getty Images
“Victoria is a phenomenal athlete from the rear position, she has just such fantastic top-end speed, and I knew that … I just had to force her to the front and perhaps make her question her ability to be able to hold me off. That was my game plan the whole way. Weeks ago.”
Eight years after triumphing in the 500m time trial on her Olympic debut in Athens, Meares had another gold medal looped around her neck.
“Victoria’s such a hard-fought opponent and she’s dominated the sport for so long,” Meares said.
“It’s been such a difficult challenge and to be able to win the Olympic title, for me it’s so special.”