sport, women-in-sport,
THREE gold medals, two Oceania records, a silver and a bronze – Bathurst cyclist Kalinda Robinson certainly began her track season in impressive fashion. Coming off a road season which saw her claim a junior women’s gold medal for the criterium less than a month earlier, the Bathurst teenager was a little unsure how her form on the boards would be for the 2020 Oceania Track Cycling Championships. It turns out that her preparation was good as she lit up the track at Invercargill and made her debut at Oceania level one to remember. The Bathurst Cycling Club rider and Western Region Academy of Sport squad member claimed gold in the team sprint, sprint and scratch races, silver in the time trial and bronze for the keirin. “It was a bit surprising, coming off road season I was sure how I’d go. But I got some PBs and I was just lucky that no-one else was faster,” the talented teen said. “It was pretty cool getting to race and watch the elites, like the Olympic Australian and New Zealand teams. “The track was really fast and smooth, it was really nice actually.” Robinson’s first gold of the championships was arguably the highlight as it came wearing an Australian skin suit in the team sprint. She and Alessia McCaig covered the 500 metres in the final in an Oceania record 35.249 seconds – that’s an average of 51.065 km/hr – to win gold ahead of New Zealand duo Tyla Green and Jenna Borthwick. “It was pretty cool to wear the Australian kit,” she said. “The New Zealand team was pretty fast as well, it was one of the hardest races.” Robinson wore New South Wales colours for her other events and she impressed just as much in those as she did with the green and gold bands. In taking out the 30-lap scratch race she beat current junior women’s world champion Ella Sibley. On the way to claiming her third gold in the sprint event, Robinson clocked her second Oceania record. In her qualifier she covered the 200m distance in 11.662 – that’s an average of 61.738km/hr. She went on to win gold in the final against McCaig. “I’d say the one that surprised me most was the individual sprint. I qualified fastest with a big PB, then I got through the sprint rounds to win it. That PB was also an Oceania record,” Robinson said. McCaig beat the Bathurst rider out for the gold in the 500m time trial, though Robinson did clock the fastest split through the first 250m. In the six-lap keirin it was Kiwi Borthwick who took the gold, McCaig silver and Robinson bronze. “It was four days of big racing and I was very tired by the end. It was a good start to the season with that sort of competition, so we’ll see how it goes from here,” she said. Robinson’s next track assignment is Saturday’s Sydney Cup on Wheels.
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GOLDEN GIRL: Kalinda Robinson beat out 21 rivals, including world champion Ella Sibley (left) to claim gold in the junior women’s scratch race.
