Tyla Green claims cycling gold at Oceania champs
Southland junior Tyla Green provided the highlight for the Vantage New Zealand team with a gold medal on day three of the Oceania Track Cycling Championships in Adelaide.
The Invercargill rider, who was competing in under-17 racing earlier in the year, enjoyed a remarkable rise as a first year under-19 rider in winning the junior women’s keirin final.
The other medals on day three went to Olivia Podmore and Natasha Hansen, with silver and bronze respectively in the elite women’s keirin behind Australia’s Stephanie Morton, the Commonwealth Games champion.
Photo: Olivia Podmore in action in the final of the elite women’s keirin. Pic: Kevin Anderson/Chameleon Photography
Waikato’s Eva Parkinson, another first-year junior who is part of Cycling New Zealand’s Subway Performance Hub, impressed with a silver medal in the junior women’s omnium on the penultimate day of racing.
Podmore won her heat of the keirin convincingly but only edged into the final after placing third in the semifinal. She positioned herself well in the final and finished strongly to claim the runner-up spot behind Morton.
“I am pretty happy. Myself and my coach Jono went out with a plan. We put the gear a little bigger and I stuck to the plan and delivered,” said Podmore.
“I am really excited. I have started the season in good nick and hopefully I will come into the January World Cups in awesome form.”
Hansen also impressed, winning her heat and the semifinal, settling for third in the final.
Earlier Eddie Dawkins was the best of the Kiwi sprinters, finishing fourth in the elite individual sprint won by world champion Matthew Glaetzer. The Australian topped qualifying with a stunning 9.725s effort with Dawkins fifth fastest in 9.908s, Ethan Mitchell sixth in 9.934s and Sam Webster eighth in 10.029s.
The Kiwi trio progressed through the first round of match-racing with Dawkins the only Kiwi to make it to the semifinals after an excellent win over Australian Patrick Constable. He was edged by Glaetzer in the semifinal and settled for fourth in the ride-off for the bronze medal with Australian Jacob Schmid.
Meanwhile Jessie Hodges and Rushlee Buchanan were the best of the New Zealand riders in the elite women’s omnium in seventh and eighth placings respectively.
Green had a winning day, topping her heat in the junior women’s keirin and taking her chances to claim the final in a closely fought race, after coming into her first international competition with no expectations.
“It’s still not real,” said the excited Green after the victory. “I saw it coming, controlled the race and gave it everything. I’ve wanted to take this competition day by day and give it all I had.
“I am a first-year under-19 so I came in here to do my hardest and I’ve ended up coming away with a gold medal in a race that I absolutely love. I’m can’t quite believe it.”
Parkinson was third in the scratch race, won the tempo race, was third in the elimination and the points races, to finish 10 points behind overall winner Ella Sibley in an impressive and consistent performance in the junior women’s omnium.
Feilding junior Angus Claasen finished fourth in the sprint competition after qualifying fifth fastest in 10.980s, and progressing to the semi-finals.
The championships conclude today.
Results:
Elite:
Men Sprint Qualifying: Matthew Glaetzer (AUS) 9.725, 1; Nathan Hart (AUSD) 9.816, 2; Jacob Schmid (AUS) 9.819, 3. Also NZers: Eddie Dawkins 9.908, 5; Ethan Mitchell 9.934, 6; Sam Webster 10.029, 8; Callum Saunders 10.129, 11; Bradly Knipe 10.146, 12; Sam Dakin 10.165, 13; Zac Williams 10.178, 14; Jackson Ogle 10.308, 16. Round 1: Glaetzer bt Ogle, Schmid bt Williams, Constable bt Dakin, Dawkins bt Knipe, Mitchell bt Saunders, Webster bt Matthew Richardson (AUS). Quarterfinals: Glaetzer bt Webster, Hart bt Brister, Schmid bt Mitchell, Dawkins bt Constable. Semifinal: Glaetzer bt Dawkins, Hart bt Schmid. Final: Glaetzer bt Hart. 3rd-4th: Schmid bt Dawkins.
Women Keirin, round 1, heat 1: Emma Cumming (NZL) 3, Jaymie King (NZL) 5. Heat 2: Natasha Hansen (NZL) 1, Tess Young (NZL) 5. Heat 3: Olivia Podmore (NZL) 1. Repechage, heat 1: Emma Cumming 1. Heat 2: Tess Young 1, Jaymie King 4. Semifinal 1: Stephanie Morton (AUS) 1, Cumming 2, Caitlin Ward (AUS) 3. Heat 2: Hansen 1, Holly Takos (AUS) 2, Podmore 3. Final: Morton 1, Podmore 2, Hansen 3. Also: Cumming 6.
Women omnium, scratch: Georgia Baker (AUS) 1, Alex Wallace (AUS) 2, Ashlee Ankudinoff (AUS) 3. Also: Georgia Danford (NZL) 4, Jessie Hodges (NZL) 6. Tempo: Baker 25 points, 1; Edmondson 25, 2; Rushlee Buchanan 21, 3. Elimination: Baker 1, Ankudinoff 2, Buchanan 3. Points and Overall: Baker 131, 1; Edmondson 117, 2; Ankudinoff 115, 3. Also: Hodges 87, 7; Buchanan 85. 8; Dunford 83, 9.
Junior:
Men Sprint qualifying: Carlos Carismo (AUS) 10.500, 1; Sam Gallagher (AUS) 10.550, 2; John Trovas (AUS) 10.740, 3. Also: Angus Claasen (NZL) 10.980, 5. Quarterfinals: Carismo bt Patrick Clancy (NZL), Trovas bt Cameron Manley (NZL); Claasen bt Jaden Rollinson (AUS). Semifinals: Carismo bt Claasen, Gallagher bt Trovas. Final: Gallagher bt Carismo. 3rd/4th: Trovas bt Claasen.
Women Keirin, round 1, heat 1: Tyla Green (NZL) 1. Heat 2: Jennifer Brown (NZL) 6. Final: Green 1, Elizabeth Nuspan (AUS) 2, Heather May (AUS) 3.
Women Omnium, scratch race: Ashley Jones (AUS) 1, Ella Sibley (AUS) 2, Eva Parkinson (NZL) 3. Tempo: Parkinson 4 points, 1; Sibley 2, 2; Tessa Kohn (AUS) 2, 3. Elimination: Sibley 1, Jones 2, Parkinson 3. Points (and overall): Sibley 136, 1; Parkinson 126, 2; Jones 114, 3.
Men omnium, scratch: Bill Simpson (AUS) 1, Kurt Eather (AUS) 2, Griffyn Spencer (NZL) 3. Tempo: Jordan Dawson (AUS) 13 points, 1; Simpson 3, 2; Rohan Haydon-Smith (AUS) 2, 3. Elimination: Laurence Pithie (NZL) 1, Eather 2, Haydon-Smith 3. Points and overall: Simpson 1, Graeme Frislee (AUS) 124, 2; Haydon-Smith 120, 3. Also: Spencer 113, 4, Christian Rush (NZL) 87, 6; Reuben Webster (NZL) 74, 8.
