PARALYMPIC cycling star Aileen McGlynn has added to her medal collection with two golds in this year's world championships.
The 34-year-old Scot won gold for both the 3km pursuit and 1km time trial alongside her tandem pilot Ellen Hunter at the 2007 UCI para-cycling competition in Bordeaux, France.
Aileen, who is visually impaired, said: "It was totally amazing to win the gold.
"When I was standing on the podium with the gold medal around my neck, I felt a tingling feeling rushing through me. I was convinced I was going to faint - I couldn't believe I'd done it."
The women used specific training techniques for the 1km time trial but did not do any formal training for the pursuit.
Aileen said: "Winning the pursuit was the cherry on the cake and was a really amazing feeling. I didn't know we had it in us."
The pair, who won gold and silver medals at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, are focused on the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing and the 3km pursuit.
Paisley-born Aileen said: "A lot of our success is down to the fact we've stuck by each other through thick and thin. We both get medals because it's a team effort."
Ellen broke her back in June 2003 but the pair were back riding tandem again in 2004.
Dave Mellor, of the British Cycling Federation, praised the girls' efforts.
He said: "We've got two fantastic medals but we can't rest on our laurels.
"We'll have to work fast - Beijing is just under a year away."
Source: Evening Times 19/09/07
Thursday 27 September 2007
2007 UCI Para-Cycling World Championships
The 2007 World Championships were held in Bordeaux, France. We travelled out on Wednesday 15th August which gave us a few days to get used to the steeply banked 250m track prior to the competition starting.
The goals for this year were set high with us required to win Gold in the 1km time trial in a new World Record time or to win Gold in the 1km and podium in another event. So the pressure was really on us to perform well.
We were entered for the 1km time trial and the 3km pursuit.
Our first event was the 1km time trial the following Monday.
There were 19 female tandems entered for the kilometre and as World Champions, we were off last.
A number of tandem pairings prior to us had false started with the commissar being a little trigger happy in firing his gun and we were no exception to this.
Having only one more chance to get it right we made sure that second time around we didn’t give him any excuses to fire his gun again. On our second attempt the commissar holding our tandem let us go as we set off and then grabbed my saddle again, losing us valuable time.
Despite this we got the tandem going and settled into our ride. The pressure was really on us as the Aussie pairing of Felicity Johnson and Katie Parker had posted a very fast time of 1:10.789. However, we were confident that we could go faster and we crossed the finish line in a time of 1:10.539, to win Gold. Not a new World Record but given the issues at the start, it was a respectable time and just over one tenth of a second off our World Record time of 1:10.431.
Having got the kilometre out of the way, we turned our attentions to the 3km pursuit, which is an event that sprinters dread.
We hadn’t done any specific training for this event and were only riding it to gain points for places for next years Paralympic Games in Beijing.
The pursuit involves riding a qualifying time over 3km with another tandem setting off on the opposite side of the track. The fastest two teams then ride off for the Gold and Silver medals with the 3rd and 4th fastest teams riding off for the Bronze medal later on the same day.
There were 19 female tandems entered for the pursuit and as we were not seeded in the event, we went off in the second heat with the Irish pairing of Walsh and Hickey, setting off on the opposite side of the track.
Due to the number of false starts from the kilometre, we now had to use a start gate instead of being held by a commissar. Not having used a start gate before we were unsure how this would go, but in fact it was fine. At least we didn’t need to worry about whether the commissar would hold us correctly or let us go when he should!
We set off at an easier pace that we would for the kilometre and settled down into a rhythm. Each time we came to our start line, Chris our coach shouted out our lap times so that we knew whether we were going too fast or too slow. We aimed to do around 18 second laps and we were around this which was great. It actually felt reasonably comfortable which was a real surprise to us.
We passed the Irish girls pretty quickly into the race and we crossed the finish line in a time of 3:39.7 which was just over 3 seconds off the World Record time of 3:36.816.
We were absolutely delighted with our time and I was so confident that we would be riding off for the Gold/Silver medals that I celebrated; waiving to the crowd!
I was not wrong and even the Aussie team of Lindy Hou and Toireasa Gallagher who were only one hundredth of a second off breaking the pursuit World Record at the Australian Nationals in February this year were fractionally slower than us.
We now had to do it all again in the afternoon. But even if we did a poor ride the second time around, we would still come away with a Silver medal. However, Gold was what we wanted.
As fastest qualifiers, we now started in the home straight were the crowds of spectators were sat cheering us on. However, this time around I couldn’t hear the lap times from Chris and I lost track of how many laps we had done and more importantly how many we had left; I just kept pedalling as hard as I could. The second ride was a lot tougher than the first earlier in the day and we had to dig deep to keep the pedals turning. It wasn’t until I heard our bell ring first which indicated we had started our last lap that I knew where I was and that we were ahead of the Aussies at this point. One lap left and we gave it everything and crossed the line first to win our second Gold medal of the Championships in a time of 3:40.626. The Aussies finished in a time of 3:42.383. We were now double World Champions!
We just couldn’t believe we had won the pursuit. It was amazing and a fantastic feeling. We had entered this event to gain points for places for Beijing and we had shocked a number of people, including our coaches and team manager by going out and winning. We had achieved our goal for the year by winning 2 Gold medals.
I went out for a meal that night in Bordeaux to celebrate with my mum Maureen and sister Sharon and friends Kathy Ludbrook and Gordon Lister who had travelled to Bordeaux to cheer me on.
Then having just over an hours sleep, we set off for the airport at 4am the next morning for our flights back home.
The goals for this year were set high with us required to win Gold in the 1km time trial in a new World Record time or to win Gold in the 1km and podium in another event. So the pressure was really on us to perform well.
We were entered for the 1km time trial and the 3km pursuit.
Our first event was the 1km time trial the following Monday.
There were 19 female tandems entered for the kilometre and as World Champions, we were off last.
A number of tandem pairings prior to us had false started with the commissar being a little trigger happy in firing his gun and we were no exception to this.Having only one more chance to get it right we made sure that second time around we didn’t give him any excuses to fire his gun again. On our second attempt the commissar holding our tandem let us go as we set off and then grabbed my saddle again, losing us valuable time.
Despite this we got the tandem going and settled into our ride. The pressure was really on us as the Aussie pairing of Felicity Johnson and Katie Parker had posted a very fast time of 1:10.789. However, we were confident that we could go faster and we crossed the finish line in a time of 1:10.539, to win Gold. Not a new World Record but given the issues at the start, it was a respectable time and just over one tenth of a second off our World Record time of 1:10.431.
Having got the kilometre out of the way, we turned our attentions to the 3km pursuit, which is an event that sprinters dread.
We hadn’t done any specific training for this event and were only riding it to gain points for places for next years Paralympic Games in Beijing.
The pursuit involves riding a qualifying time over 3km with another tandem setting off on the opposite side of the track. The fastest two teams then ride off for the Gold and Silver medals with the 3rd and 4th fastest teams riding off for the Bronze medal later on the same day.
There were 19 female tandems entered for the pursuit and as we were not seeded in the event, we went off in the second heat with the Irish pairing of Walsh and Hickey, setting off on the opposite side of the track.
Due to the number of false starts from the kilometre, we now had to use a start gate instead of being held by a commissar. Not having used a start gate before we were unsure how this would go, but in fact it was fine. At least we didn’t need to worry about whether the commissar would hold us correctly or let us go when he should!
We set off at an easier pace that we would for the kilometre and settled down into a rhythm. Each time we came to our start line, Chris our coach shouted out our lap times so that we knew whether we were going too fast or too slow. We aimed to do around 18 second laps and we were around this which was great. It actually felt reasonably comfortable which was a real surprise to us.We passed the Irish girls pretty quickly into the race and we crossed the finish line in a time of 3:39.7 which was just over 3 seconds off the World Record time of 3:36.816.
We were absolutely delighted with our time and I was so confident that we would be riding off for the Gold/Silver medals that I celebrated; waiving to the crowd!
I was not wrong and even the Aussie team of Lindy Hou and Toireasa Gallagher who were only one hundredth of a second off breaking the pursuit World Record at the Australian Nationals in February this year were fractionally slower than us.
We now had to do it all again in the afternoon. But even if we did a poor ride the second time around, we would still come away with a Silver medal. However, Gold was what we wanted.
As fastest qualifiers, we now started in the home straight were the crowds of spectators were sat cheering us on. However, this time around I couldn’t hear the lap times from Chris and I lost track of how many laps we had done and more importantly how many we had left; I just kept pedalling as hard as I could. The second ride was a lot tougher than the first earlier in the day and we had to dig deep to keep the pedals turning. It wasn’t until I heard our bell ring first which indicated we had started our last lap that I knew where I was and that we were ahead of the Aussies at this point. One lap left and we gave it everything and crossed the line first to win our second Gold medal of the Championships in a time of 3:40.626. The Aussies finished in a time of 3:42.383. We were now double World Champions!
We just couldn’t believe we had won the pursuit. It was amazing and a fantastic feeling. We had entered this event to gain points for places for Beijing and we had shocked a number of people, including our coaches and team manager by going out and winning. We had achieved our goal for the year by winning 2 Gold medals.I went out for a meal that night in Bordeaux to celebrate with my mum Maureen and sister Sharon and friends Kathy Ludbrook and Gordon Lister who had travelled to Bordeaux to cheer me on.
Then having just over an hours sleep, we set off for the airport at 4am the next morning for our flights back home.
Vital Open Tandem Track Meeting 14 May 2007 Report: Andrea Ingram
A fantastic night of tandem racing was had at the Vital Open Tandem Track meeting with tandem teams from Australia, Great Britain and Ireland competing. The evening kicked off with a live band System Fault which is the name of the band not a description - in the centre of the track to fire up the 16 tandem pairings consisting of men’s, women’s and mixed teams.
The first event of the evening was the flying 200m and perhaps the highlight in this round was the unofficial National Record time of 11.804 posted by Ellen Hunter and Aileen McGlynn, taking 8 hundredths of a second off the National Record set by them last week at the Newport Grand Prix.
The next round of the evening’s tandem omnium was the sprint ladder where points were gained over 3 races, with the fastest tandem pairing riding against the second fastest and so on.
Ellen Hunter and Aileen McGlynn were not to be outdone against one of the Irish men’s pairings riding them all over the track as is Ellen’s way and giving them a good lesson in tactics as they smiled their way to the line.
With just the 2 km pursuit to come something most of the sprinters hate, a lot, the Aussie women tandem sprinters Felicity Johnson / Katie Parker were heard nervously joking about a mistake on the lap boards - surely it should be 3 laps? before going on to record a fast 2m 33s and then collapsing on the floor giggling between recovery swigs of something nice.
Hunter / McGlynn, most used to 4 laps tried to topple the Aussies with 2m 28sec - a fine time for any women's pairings.
All the pairings from home and abroad seemed to have enjoyed this unique event with more tandems than you can shake a stick at and hope to come back for another next year.
1. Jon Norfolk / Anthony Kappes Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
2. Shaun Hopkins / Ben Demery Australia
3. Simon Churton / Anthony Gill Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
4. Barney Storey / Iain Dawson VC St Raphael/Waite
5. Paul Hunter / Gwyn Carless Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
6. Michael Delaney (Stoker) & David Peelo Ireland
7. Ben Elliott/Cheryl Owens VC St Raphael/Waite
8. Paul Johnson / Mark Fleming Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
9. Aileen McGlynn / Ellen Hunter Johnson Whlrs / Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
10. Andrew Fitzgerald (Stoker) & John Lynch Ireland
11. Felicity Johnson / Katie Parker Australia
12. Jon Gribbin / Mal Mckinhia Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital-Ireland
13. Jo Wilman / Chris Higgs Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
14. Gavin Allman (Stoker) & Niall Jenkins Ireland
15. Evelyn Dunstan / Neil Orrell Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital Zodiac CC
dnf. Ben MacFie / Ben Holmes Australia
The first event of the evening was the flying 200m and perhaps the highlight in this round was the unofficial National Record time of 11.804 posted by Ellen Hunter and Aileen McGlynn, taking 8 hundredths of a second off the National Record set by them last week at the Newport Grand Prix.
The next round of the evening’s tandem omnium was the sprint ladder where points were gained over 3 races, with the fastest tandem pairing riding against the second fastest and so on.
Ellen Hunter and Aileen McGlynn were not to be outdone against one of the Irish men’s pairings riding them all over the track as is Ellen’s way and giving them a good lesson in tactics as they smiled their way to the line.
With just the 2 km pursuit to come something most of the sprinters hate, a lot, the Aussie women tandem sprinters Felicity Johnson / Katie Parker were heard nervously joking about a mistake on the lap boards - surely it should be 3 laps? before going on to record a fast 2m 33s and then collapsing on the floor giggling between recovery swigs of something nice.
Hunter / McGlynn, most used to 4 laps tried to topple the Aussies with 2m 28sec - a fine time for any women's pairings.
All the pairings from home and abroad seemed to have enjoyed this unique event with more tandems than you can shake a stick at and hope to come back for another next year.
1. Jon Norfolk / Anthony Kappes Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
2. Shaun Hopkins / Ben Demery Australia
3. Simon Churton / Anthony Gill Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
4. Barney Storey / Iain Dawson VC St Raphael/Waite
5. Paul Hunter / Gwyn Carless Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
6. Michael Delaney (Stoker) & David Peelo Ireland
7. Ben Elliott/Cheryl Owens VC St Raphael/Waite
8. Paul Johnson / Mark Fleming Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
9. Aileen McGlynn / Ellen Hunter Johnson Whlrs / Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
10. Andrew Fitzgerald (Stoker) & John Lynch Ireland
11. Felicity Johnson / Katie Parker Australia
12. Jon Gribbin / Mal Mckinhia Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital-Ireland
13. Jo Wilman / Chris Higgs Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital
14. Gavin Allman (Stoker) & Niall Jenkins Ireland
15. Evelyn Dunstan / Neil Orrell Yasumtisu-Schlapp/Vital Zodiac CC
dnf. Ben MacFie / Ben Holmes Australia
Saturday 15 September 2007
Glasgow Paralympian star pleads for sprint chance
GLASGOW cyclist Aileen McGlynn has asked for the sprint to be included at the Beijing Paralympics after landing gold at the Visa World Cup.
The 33-year-old and Welsh lead Ellen Hunter topped the podium in the tandem sprint in Manchester - but will not get the chance in the Far East after organisers scrapped the race.
McGlynn - second in the sprint at the Athens Games in 2004 - said: "It's really disappointing they're leaving out the sprint as we're better now than we were in Athens.
"It puts our position in jeopardy now as we are actually fighting to go. Even though we're world, European and Olympic champions, we still might not get to Beijing.
"We're tactically better now than we were in Athens and since then we haven't really been beaten, so we felt we could have got two gold medals."
McGlynn and Hunter - the Paralympic champs in the 1km time trial - clinched gold by beating Aussies Felicity Johnson and Katie Parker 2-0 in the best-of-three final,- the quickest victory coming in 12.156secs.
The Brits also tried to break the world record in the 1km time trial but missed out by 0.5secs.
"Not breaking the world record was disappointing - but the timing was poor," added McGlynn.
"Having two sprint matches before and dope control stopping us going to the toilet didn't help.
"Whoever organise these things don't seem to see sense at times."
Visa was the first sponsor of the Paralympic Games and their support will continue through to the London 2012 Games as Visa help bring Paralympic sport to a global audience.
Source: Evening Times 14 May 2007
The 33-year-old and Welsh lead Ellen Hunter topped the podium in the tandem sprint in Manchester - but will not get the chance in the Far East after organisers scrapped the race.
McGlynn - second in the sprint at the Athens Games in 2004 - said: "It's really disappointing they're leaving out the sprint as we're better now than we were in Athens.
"It puts our position in jeopardy now as we are actually fighting to go. Even though we're world, European and Olympic champions, we still might not get to Beijing.
"We're tactically better now than we were in Athens and since then we haven't really been beaten, so we felt we could have got two gold medals."
McGlynn and Hunter - the Paralympic champs in the 1km time trial - clinched gold by beating Aussies Felicity Johnson and Katie Parker 2-0 in the best-of-three final,- the quickest victory coming in 12.156secs.
The Brits also tried to break the world record in the 1km time trial but missed out by 0.5secs.
"Not breaking the world record was disappointing - but the timing was poor," added McGlynn.
"Having two sprint matches before and dope control stopping us going to the toilet didn't help.
"Whoever organise these things don't seem to see sense at times."
Visa was the first sponsor of the Paralympic Games and their support will continue through to the London 2012 Games as Visa help bring Paralympic sport to a global audience.
Source: Evening Times 14 May 2007
Sunday 9 September 2007
Disability Grand Prix of Wales 2007
Wednesday 9th May; Wales National Velodrome
Pictures & report from Larry Hickmott
The disability event at the Welsh National Velodrome in Newport on Wednesday night may have been an international but it had the atmosphere of a local club run as the riders from around the world mingled in the track centre with much laughter and stories told and then went out to win on the track determined to win their event.
There were riders from the US, Australia, Ireland and Great Britain plus others from Wales and Britain, all out to get some racing in during the packed programme of events. With a dedicated band of volunteers there to help the riders, the night saw the normal series of time trials over various distances and also some great Tandem racing between both the men and women. There was even a scratch race but for excitement, you can’t beat a close tandem race and there were plenty on the night.
Results
Flying 200 Metres
Aileen McGlynn & Ellen Hunter, GB, 11.887
Felicity Johnson & Katie Parker, Australia, 12.187
Emma Sulivan & Becki Rimmington, Youth, 13.280
Emma Fitzgerald & Joanna Hickey, Ireland, 15.443
Ailish Dunne & Orla Hendron, Ireland, 16.448
Tandem Sprints - Match A
Emma Sulivan & Becki Rimmington GB Youth beat Emma Fitzgerald & Joanna Hickey Ireland 15.21
Aileen McGlynn & Ellen Hunter GB beat Felicity Johnson & Katie Parker Australia 12.551
Tandem Sprints - Match B
Emma Sulivan & Becki Rimmington GB Youth beat Emma Fitzgerald & Joanna Hickey Ireland 16.034
Aileen McGlynn & Ellen Hunter GB beat Felicity Johnson & Katie Parker Australia 12.538
Pictures & report from Larry Hickmott
The disability event at the Welsh National Velodrome in Newport on Wednesday night may have been an international but it had the atmosphere of a local club run as the riders from around the world mingled in the track centre with much laughter and stories told and then went out to win on the track determined to win their event.
There were riders from the US, Australia, Ireland and Great Britain plus others from Wales and Britain, all out to get some racing in during the packed programme of events. With a dedicated band of volunteers there to help the riders, the night saw the normal series of time trials over various distances and also some great Tandem racing between both the men and women. There was even a scratch race but for excitement, you can’t beat a close tandem race and there were plenty on the night.
Results
Flying 200 Metres
Aileen McGlynn & Ellen Hunter, GB, 11.887
Felicity Johnson & Katie Parker, Australia, 12.187
Emma Sulivan & Becki Rimmington, Youth, 13.280
Emma Fitzgerald & Joanna Hickey, Ireland, 15.443
Ailish Dunne & Orla Hendron, Ireland, 16.448
Tandem Sprints - Match A
Emma Sulivan & Becki Rimmington GB Youth beat Emma Fitzgerald & Joanna Hickey Ireland 15.21
Aileen McGlynn & Ellen Hunter GB beat Felicity Johnson & Katie Parker Australia 12.551
Tandem Sprints - Match B
Emma Sulivan & Becki Rimmington GB Youth beat Emma Fitzgerald & Joanna Hickey Ireland 16.034
Aileen McGlynn & Ellen Hunter GB beat Felicity Johnson & Katie Parker Australia 12.538
Trip to Aus!
2007 started for me with a training camp in January to Australia. We spent the first two weeks in Bendigo; about one and a half hours drive north of Melbourne. It was the middle of summer in Australia with temperatures reaching 40 degrees centigrade. To avoid the heat we had to train at 7am in the morning and then late on in the afternoon.
There was an outdoor velodrome in Bendigo, however it was a D-shape and the sweeping bends made it hard for the boys to control the tandem at high speed. Anthony Kappes and I had to swap pilots so that I rode with Barney Storey and Anthony rode with Ellen Hunter.
It was very good training in the warm weather and we saw a few kangaroos on one of our rides!
We then travelled to Sydney were we competed at the Australian Track Championships. This wasn't a major event for us this year and so we didn't do a taper beforehand.
However, the night before our kilometre time trial we were told that we could gain points towards qualifying places for Beijing, which changed the whole focus of the Championships for us and added a bit more pressure!
There were 5 female tandems entered for the kilometre and as World Champions, we were off last. However, we didn't get off to a great start and for some reason or another we rolled completely off the track at the start of our race with the clock ticking away! We rode back onto the track and kept going. We lost 1.5 seconds in our first lap alone. We kept going and crossed the finish line in a time of 1:11.803. Thankfully it was enough to win the Gold medal but we may have also broken our World Record time of 1:10.431 if we hadn't lost so much time in our first lap.
There was an outdoor velodrome in Bendigo, however it was a D-shape and the sweeping bends made it hard for the boys to control the tandem at high speed. Anthony Kappes and I had to swap pilots so that I rode with Barney Storey and Anthony rode with Ellen Hunter.
It was very good training in the warm weather and we saw a few kangaroos on one of our rides!
We then travelled to Sydney were we competed at the Australian Track Championships. This wasn't a major event for us this year and so we didn't do a taper beforehand.
However, the night before our kilometre time trial we were told that we could gain points towards qualifying places for Beijing, which changed the whole focus of the Championships for us and added a bit more pressure!
There were 5 female tandems entered for the kilometre and as World Champions, we were off last. However, we didn't get off to a great start and for some reason or another we rolled completely off the track at the start of our race with the clock ticking away! We rode back onto the track and kept going. We lost 1.5 seconds in our first lap alone. We kept going and crossed the finish line in a time of 1:11.803. Thankfully it was enough to win the Gold medal but we may have also broken our World Record time of 1:10.431 if we hadn't lost so much time in our first lap. We then had a couple of days before the Sprint. The same 5 female tandems entered this with the fastest 2 tandems in the qualifying flying 200m riding off for gold and silver; with third and fourth riding off for bronze.
We qualified second in a disappointing time of 12.11s with the Aussie paring of Lindy Hou and her new pilot Toireasa Gallagher qualifying fastest in a time of 11.88s.
The final of the sprint was decided on the best of 3 rides over 5 laps of the track.
In the first ride we sat at the back for the first 3 laps and then jumped past the Aussies, got our heads down and rode hard to the finish only to be beaten on the line. This made us even more determined to win the next race or it would be all over for us.
On the second race, the Aussies lead it out and we again sat at the back but left it until one and a half laps to go, to do our jump. Both teams were side by side for a lap and a half with us squaring the match by half a wheel. So it was going to be winner takes all on the third and final race!
So to the ride off and it seemed to have been scripted for us as Hou and Gallagher made it a tactical ride, stalling in the back straight, a tactic that we were more than a match for before making their effort just before the bell. From that point it was all over as we got up to speed much quicker than our opponents and by turn 3 had easily taken the lead and were a length clear at the line to take the title.
It was really exciting racing and I was absolutely delighted to win another Gold medal.
The British team won a total of 10 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze medals at the Championships and we were all really pleased.
On our way back home we stopped over in Beijing to see what it was like. It was a real experience with people constantly hassling you to buy goods from them when simply walking along the street. We could see the Olympic stadium from our hotel but we weren't allowed to visit it.
My next major competition is the Paralympic World Cup being held in Manchester on the 11 May and then we will travel to Bordeaux in August for the World Championships.
We qualified second in a disappointing time of 12.11s with the Aussie paring of Lindy Hou and her new pilot Toireasa Gallagher qualifying fastest in a time of 11.88s.
The final of the sprint was decided on the best of 3 rides over 5 laps of the track.
In the first ride we sat at the back for the first 3 laps and then jumped past the Aussies, got our heads down and rode hard to the finish only to be beaten on the line. This made us even more determined to win the next race or it would be all over for us.
On the second race, the Aussies lead it out and we again sat at the back but left it until one and a half laps to go, to do our jump. Both teams were side by side for a lap and a half with us squaring the match by half a wheel. So it was going to be winner takes all on the third and final race!
So to the ride off and it seemed to have been scripted for us as Hou and Gallagher made it a tactical ride, stalling in the back straight, a tactic that we were more than a match for before making their effort just before the bell. From that point it was all over as we got up to speed much quicker than our opponents and by turn 3 had easily taken the lead and were a length clear at the line to take the title.It was really exciting racing and I was absolutely delighted to win another Gold medal.
The British team won a total of 10 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze medals at the Championships and we were all really pleased.
On our way back home we stopped over in Beijing to see what it was like. It was a real experience with people constantly hassling you to buy goods from them when simply walking along the street. We could see the Olympic stadium from our hotel but we weren't allowed to visit it.
My next major competition is the Paralympic World Cup being held in Manchester on the 11 May and then we will travel to Bordeaux in August for the World Championships.
Tuesday 4 September 2007
Receiving my MBE
I was absolutely delighted when I was informed that my name had been put forward to the Queen to receive the MBE for services to Cycling for the Disabled back in November 2005. However, I wouldn't have achieved any of my results without my tandem pilot Ellen Hunter who is a fantastic athlete in her own right. In July 2006 I went to receive my MBE from the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
I was more nervous meeting the Queen this time than I had been on previous occasions. It was a fantastic day which my mum Maureen and my sisters Maureen and Sharon thoroughly enjoyed.2006 Vital Track Omnium
Since competing at the Newport Grand Prix and the Paralympic World Cup in May, my pilot for the day, Jon Norfolk and I won the Vital Track Omnium at Manchester velodrome in June,
There were 16 tandems competing at this event including the men's teams from Britain, Germany and Holland.
We were second in the flying 200m, recording a time of 11.123s, a new unofficial World Record. We then went on to win both our sprint matches. We also won the 1km TT in a new unofficial World Record of 1:07.58 and we came 4th in the 2km pursuit, so a good night's racing.
There were 16 tandems competing at this event including the men's teams from Britain, Germany and Holland.
We were second in the flying 200m, recording a time of 11.123s, a new unofficial World Record. We then went on to win both our sprint matches. We also won the 1km TT in a new unofficial World Record of 1:07.58 and we came 4th in the 2km pursuit, so a good night's racing.
2006 IPC World Cycling Championships - Aigle
Report from Larry Hickmott
Head and shoulders above the rest, what a pairing Aileen McGlynn and Ellen Hunter are. Recording a time that would have had them 17th (out of 33) in the Men's event, the British riders today not only had a convincing World Record Gold medal win but also showed just how well they can handle their new tandem with a line around the track that most of the men the day before could only dream of. It was an awesome display by them and they did of course well deserve their Rainbow stripes and Gold medals.
Aileen McGlynn. Scotland's Paralympic heroine from Athens, may have only got the chance of one ride in Aigle but she and her pilot Ellen Hunter made the most of it with a convincing win. "It's brilliant. It's my first World's jersey so I'm really really pleased. The track here is very fast but I'm glad it's over!"
"The race was a real blur. We got a really good start and just kept pedalling. I thought the Americans might have finished closer and we were concerned that the Chinese were getting better but its nice we're so far ahead of everyone else and I think we can go faster. Our training has been going really really well since the Paralympic World Cup where we had done a 1.10.4 but all that matters is winning the Gold Medal and Jersey."
Talking about the great team spirit, Aileen says - "It's all working great and is so well organised now. It's such a professional team where they are working hard for us which is so different to a couple of years ago.
Switching to pilot Ellen Hunter, she had this to say about the ride - "Yesterday I was watching the Men's tandems and was really quite concerned with how they were struggling and I didn't realise this track required so much skill. I hadn't been on the track for a few days so was slightly worried." On the fact she and the other girls only have one sprint event, no 200-metre time-trial sprint competition like the men, Ellen says "Yes, I'm quite annoyed they have taken the Sprint competition out. One of the reasons they say is because they don't think we are up to it but we have just shown our steering capabilities are as good if not better than the men."
"I'd also like to say that since last year, we have had a new coach, Barney, and we have improved leaps and bounds since this time last year. Our training is better, we're stronger, fitter, and I have had amazing support from the EIS in Manchester (gym work) and it's just improved us so much. This year, compared to Athens, we have not had to worry about anything, not had to look at the bike so it's great having the support we have there and it makes us really want to give back on what we're getting."
On the change of national coach and management, Ellen says it's all worked quite seamlessly. "Chris has slotted into the position of national coach so well and with Barney and Chris, the team has gone so well. We had the pressure on us today because we normally compete first so it was strange to come into it on the second day when the others already have Gold medals and World records. But the pressure is off now although we are disappointed we can only do the Kilo."
Result
1. MCGLYNN Aileen/HUNTER Ellen, GBR 1:10.795
2. WHITSELL Karissa/COMPTON Katherine USA 1:13.127
3. FUCHS Michaela/JOHN Sonja GER 1:15.490
4. PARSONS Jayne/LAURENSON Michelle, NZL 1:15.750
Head and shoulders above the rest, what a pairing Aileen McGlynn and Ellen Hunter are. Recording a time that would have had them 17th (out of 33) in the Men's event, the British riders today not only had a convincing World Record Gold medal win but also showed just how well they can handle their new tandem with a line around the track that most of the men the day before could only dream of. It was an awesome display by them and they did of course well deserve their Rainbow stripes and Gold medals.
Aileen McGlynn. Scotland's Paralympic heroine from Athens, may have only got the chance of one ride in Aigle but she and her pilot Ellen Hunter made the most of it with a convincing win. "It's brilliant. It's my first World's jersey so I'm really really pleased. The track here is very fast but I'm glad it's over!"
"The race was a real blur. We got a really good start and just kept pedalling. I thought the Americans might have finished closer and we were concerned that the Chinese were getting better but its nice we're so far ahead of everyone else and I think we can go faster. Our training has been going really really well since the Paralympic World Cup where we had done a 1.10.4 but all that matters is winning the Gold Medal and Jersey."
Talking about the great team spirit, Aileen says - "It's all working great and is so well organised now. It's such a professional team where they are working hard for us which is so different to a couple of years ago.
Switching to pilot Ellen Hunter, she had this to say about the ride - "Yesterday I was watching the Men's tandems and was really quite concerned with how they were struggling and I didn't realise this track required so much skill. I hadn't been on the track for a few days so was slightly worried." On the fact she and the other girls only have one sprint event, no 200-metre time-trial sprint competition like the men, Ellen says "Yes, I'm quite annoyed they have taken the Sprint competition out. One of the reasons they say is because they don't think we are up to it but we have just shown our steering capabilities are as good if not better than the men.""I'd also like to say that since last year, we have had a new coach, Barney, and we have improved leaps and bounds since this time last year. Our training is better, we're stronger, fitter, and I have had amazing support from the EIS in Manchester (gym work) and it's just improved us so much. This year, compared to Athens, we have not had to worry about anything, not had to look at the bike so it's great having the support we have there and it makes us really want to give back on what we're getting."
On the change of national coach and management, Ellen says it's all worked quite seamlessly. "Chris has slotted into the position of national coach so well and with Barney and Chris, the team has gone so well. We had the pressure on us today because we normally compete first so it was strange to come into it on the second day when the others already have Gold medals and World records. But the pressure is off now although we are disappointed we can only do the Kilo."
Result
1. MCGLYNN Aileen/HUNTER Ellen, GBR 1:10.795
2. WHITSELL Karissa/COMPTON Katherine USA 1:13.127
3. FUCHS Michaela/JOHN Sonja GER 1:15.490
4. PARSONS Jayne/LAURENSON Michelle, NZL 1:15.750
2006 Newport Grand Prix and Paralympic World Cup
Our international competitions for 2006 started with a Grand Prix held in Newport in Wales. In the Women's Tandem Sprint, Ellen Hunter and I came up against the Aussie team of Lindy Hou and Janelle Lindsay who had beaten us to the Gold medal in Athens the year before. We triumphed 2:0 as we tactically held the Aussies on our hip around the steep bankings before unleashing our power to get to the line first in both heats.
We then travelled back to Manchester to take part in the 2006 VISA Paralympic World Cup. Our first event of the night was the Flying 200m TT, which for some reason or another isn't our best event. We were hoping to get under 12 seconds for this distance but only managed 12.044, with the Aussies winning in a time of 11.952. This made us more determined to do a world breaking time in our main event, the 1km TT. The World Record for the 1km TT, held by ourselves is 1:11.16 and we have held this since we won Gold in Athens. However we did break this record in training a couple of weeks ago and had done a 1:11.00, so the aim was to at least match this time.
We were really fired up for this and we got the tandem off to a good start but then the back wheel slipped as we went around the first bend which will have lost us a bit of time. However we didn't panic and we kept pedalling as fast as we could. It was a great night for doing times as it was really warm and the track was fast. We crossed the line in a time of 1:10.431, a New World Record! The Assuies did 1:13.409. 2005 National Track Championships
Our final competition of 2005 was the National Track Championships held in Manchester on the 7th October.
The competition is based on an omnium of three races; the Flying 200m, the 1km Time Trial and the 3km Pursuit.
As there are not enough competitors in each of the disability categories (visually impaired, cerebral palsy and amputees), the competition is based on an index system whereby the individual or tandem pairing who are closest to their category's world record is awarded the most points and the winner of the omnium is the tandem or individual with the most points over the three events.
There were 10 competitors in all and the first event was the Flying 200m. We did this in 12.019s, which although isn't our PB (11.939s in Athens), it is the fastest we have ridden at Manchester. We were also the closest to our category's world record and so lead the competition after the first event.
We then had a couple of hours before the next event, the 1km Time Trial. We had hoped to beat our world record for this event but it wasn't to be and we did a time of 1 minute, 12.118s which was just under a second off our world record. Although disappointed not to better our time, we were still leading the omnium after two events and were getting rather excited about winning the National title. However, we still had the 3km Pursuit to do, which isn't really our forte and an event that every sprinter dreads!
We aimed to do the 3km in 3 minutes 45 seconds but that is easier said than done! This means trying to complete each lap in about 18.2 seconds. Marshall Thomas, our coach was shouting out the lap times to us as we passed him and gradually the times increased from 17 seconds up to 20 seconds by the last lap and so we lost a lot of time, completing the 3km in 3 minutes 55.002. We really thought we had blown it, as the world record for our category is 3 minutes 36.816s.
We were totally gutted and for a good 10 to 15 minutes we still thought that we had moved from our leading position to third place overall. It wasn't until we were asked to make our way to the podium, that we found out that we had actually won - although our time for the pursuit wasn't great, we had enough points from the previous events to win overall. Ellen and I had gone from total despair to total ecstasy in a matter of minutes and it ended a rather successful year for us winning 5 gold medals in all!
The competition is based on an omnium of three races; the Flying 200m, the 1km Time Trial and the 3km Pursuit.
As there are not enough competitors in each of the disability categories (visually impaired, cerebral palsy and amputees), the competition is based on an index system whereby the individual or tandem pairing who are closest to their category's world record is awarded the most points and the winner of the omnium is the tandem or individual with the most points over the three events.
There were 10 competitors in all and the first event was the Flying 200m. We did this in 12.019s, which although isn't our PB (11.939s in Athens), it is the fastest we have ridden at Manchester. We were also the closest to our category's world record and so lead the competition after the first event.
We then had a couple of hours before the next event, the 1km Time Trial. We had hoped to beat our world record for this event but it wasn't to be and we did a time of 1 minute, 12.118s which was just under a second off our world record. Although disappointed not to better our time, we were still leading the omnium after two events and were getting rather excited about winning the National title. However, we still had the 3km Pursuit to do, which isn't really our forte and an event that every sprinter dreads!
We aimed to do the 3km in 3 minutes 45 seconds but that is easier said than done! This means trying to complete each lap in about 18.2 seconds. Marshall Thomas, our coach was shouting out the lap times to us as we passed him and gradually the times increased from 17 seconds up to 20 seconds by the last lap and so we lost a lot of time, completing the 3km in 3 minutes 55.002. We really thought we had blown it, as the world record for our category is 3 minutes 36.816s.
We were totally gutted and for a good 10 to 15 minutes we still thought that we had moved from our leading position to third place overall. It wasn't until we were asked to make our way to the podium, that we found out that we had actually won - although our time for the pursuit wasn't great, we had enough points from the previous events to win overall. Ellen and I had gone from total despair to total ecstasy in a matter of minutes and it ended a rather successful year for us winning 5 gold medals in all!
2005 European Championships - Alkmaar
Saturday started with disappointment for us in the Women's Tandem Sprint when we learnt that only the GB tandem of myself and Ellen Hunter had signed on for the event. Karissa Whitsell and Katie Compton, the Athens Bronze Medallists in this event were in Alkmaar but withdrew due to illness and the Aussie Gold Medalists from Athens did not travel. The other Nations it seems did not fancy the sprint and would compete in the 1km Time Trial on Monday where we hoped to repeat our Athens Gold medal form.
On the Monday we competed in the Women's 1km Time Trial. Although a win was expected as the Aussies were not there and the USA pair had not been able to train much since arriving due to injury, there were some new teams, with the Spanish fielding three tandems and the Belorussians two, and so we could not afford to be complacent. 
With a season goal of breaking our own World Record all of the signs were that this was a distinct possibility. Off last of the 9 tandems competing, we knew that a 1:14 would secure the win. The start was out of this world and the next two laps were good but we tied up in the last lap to finish 4 tenths outside our own World Record to take the European and the Open European Crown in 1:11.549.
Aileen's Athens Dream
September 18th turned out to be the best day of my life, so far. From that day on my life has changed dramatically!
After a patchy night's sleep, the mood at the breakfast table was rather subdued, with other team members in their own world, thinking about what lay ahead. I felt reasonably calm but as the time drew nearer for us to catch the bus to the velodrome, I could feel my heart starting to race.
We had done a dress rehearsal of our warm-up at the velodrome a few days beforehand, so I knew what to expect. Marshall Thomas, our coach, kept us right on our timing and whether the events were running to schedule, so all I had to do after my warm-up was to sit back and stay calm! We had practised our standing starts loads of times on my fortnightly trips to Manchester Velodrome and it was a case of making a good start, getting on top of the gear and keeping the cadence going for four laps! I kept saying to myself “It’s only 4 laps, one and a bit minutes out of your life!”
We were off 4th out of the 13 tandems competing in the 1km TT and I had originally thought that going off fourth wasn't to our advantage. However, it turned out for the better! Marshall positioned our tandem on the start line and we got on and clipped our feet into the pedals. The clock counts down from one minute once you have your feet clipped in. The buzzer sounds at 10 seconds to go and then the buzzer sounds on each second from 5 to 1. At zero, we were off! We got a really good start and got on top of the gear really quickly, after half a lap we sat down and drove through the pedals. Each time we came around past the start/finish line, Marshall shouted out the laps to go. Our first lap was the fastest we had ever ridden, taking nearly a second off our previous best time and this is really what won the race for us because we were so far in front of the rest, on our first lap. Our second lap was even faster and we maintained it in our third lap but then we started to die off a bit in our final lap as the lactate acid built up in our legs. However, we drove through the pain, and finally we crossed the finish line. I suddenly felt a rush of pain to my head as though someone had hit me with a baseball bat. My eyes went blurry and my whole body was in agony! I was just glad I wasn't steering the tandem! We rode around the track and I asked Ellen how we had done. She looked up at the score board and saw the 1.11.16 but wasn't sure at first if that was our time or they were showing the World Record. It wasn't until we rode past it again that she realised that we had in fact broken the World Record and our time was the new World Record. It was a fantastic feeling to know that we had gone out and done a personal best and for that to have broken the World Record of 1.11.90 by nearly 8 tenths of a second.It was nerve-wracking waiting for each competitor to do their ride. I couldn't watch the others as they raced but Ellen gave me a running commentary of each lap on whether they were up or down on our times. With only 2 competitors remaining, we knew that we had a least won the bronze! The pressure for us really came when the USA rode last, as they were the best in the world. It wasn't until they crossed the finish line with a time of 1.11.221, only 6 hundredths of a second behind us, that we could relax. We were totally ecstatic and couldn't believe it had really happened. We were now officially Gold Medal winners in the Paralympic Games. The first Gold medal of the GB team, the first ever Gold medallists for either men or women in cycling at the Paralympic Games for GB and the first women ever to win Gold in cycling for GB in either the Olympics or the Paralympics. So it was a fantastic achievement for us!
Once we had calmed down a bit, we received our medals. It was a surreal moment standing on the podium receiving my Gold Medal. We were then escorted over to the crowd and it was only then that I noticed the Scottish flags that my family and friends were draping over the barrier. It was fantastic to know that my family had been there to see me win! We were then escorted to a press conference and then doping control. Whilst waiting at doping control, my mother had somehow persuaded the officials to allow her down to doping control to give me a hug, which was fantastic, as I didn't get a chance to meet up with my family at any other time that day. We were then asked to go to the BBC studios to do a live interview on Grandstand. Then followed a series of other radio interviews and then another TV interview. It was not the best post race recovery, but it was a fantastic experience. The congratulations continued when we eventually arrived back at the athlete village around 8pm. However, we had a qualifying flying 200m to do the next morning for the Sprint, so there was no celebrating that night, just a quick massage and bed by 11pm.
The next day we qualified 3rd fastest for the Sprint, followed a day later by a hard fought victory against the USA in the semi-finals. However, all the exertion over the previous three days had taken its toll and we had to settle for Silver.
All-in-all, the Paralympic Games was a fantastic experience and for it to have been our first international competition and to come away with a Gold Medal and Silver Medal out of the two events we entered was awesome and something I will cherish for the rest of my life. Even since I returned home, I have been invited to Jack McConnell’s Bute House and the opening of the Scottish Parliament building where I met, amongst others, the Queen, Sean Connery, Gavin Hastings and Fred McAuley. I also attended the Parade of Medallists in London, which was fantastic.
I was invited to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen, who remembered me from the opening of the Scottish Parliament building (once seen, never forgotten!) and I have been invited to Downing Street on 29 November. I also picked up the Glasgow Disabled Athlete Award for 2004 at the Radisson Hotel last weekend, so it has been a life changing experience for me. In between all this I am back doing my day job as an actuarial trainee for Hymans Robertson. I have also resumed training for the Paralympic World Cup and the European Championships next year and hoping to make it to Beijing in four years time! Saturday 1 September 2007
A new start
Its about time I started this blog, something I have been meaning to do since I started tandem cycle racing that has taken me around the world and given me Paralympic Gold and silver medals from Athens and numerous world titles.
I shall be updating this frequently with tales of training, racing and travel plus gossip about my tandem pilot Ellen Hunter - without whom I would not have made this journey.
I shall be updating this frequently with tales of training, racing and travel plus gossip about my tandem pilot Ellen Hunter - without whom I would not have made this journey.
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