Cyc:Mactier humbled with silver

AAP General News (Australia)
08-23-2004
Cyc:Mactier humbled with silver

By Paul Mulvey

ATHENS, Aug 22 AAP - Katie Mactier was humbled to take the Olympic silver medal in
the fastest women's 3000m individual pursuit race in history behind a stunning world record
from New Zealand's Sarah Ulmer tonight.

Mactier herself broke the world record yesterday and even bettered it in tonight's
gold medal race, but she was in a different class to the Kiwi who slashed more than six
seconds off the record she took into Athens with a ride of 3 minutes 24.537 seconds.

The 29-year-old from Melbourne trailed behind Ulmer to finish in 3:27.650, close to
three seconds quicker than the world record the New Zealander set in Melbourne in May.

Holland's four-time Olympic gold medallist Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel rode another
remarkable time of 3:27.037 on the lightning Athens track to beat Australia's Kate Bates
in the bronze medal race.

"It's a tremendous honour, I'm very humbled to be running silver behind Sarah, she
and Leontien are two very class acts," Mactier said.

In less than 18 months of cycling the pursuit, Mactier has won two world championship
silver medals and an Olympic silver and has warned Ulmer she will one day get the gold.

While Mactier is sick of silver, Australia's gold medal prospects look bright tomorrow
after a world record in the 4000m team pursuit tonight, while Ryan Bayley and Anna Meares
are through to the quarter finals in the sprint.

Graeme Brown, Brett Lancaster, Brad McGee and Luke Roberts showed their intent when
they broke Australia's own world record with a time of 3:56.342 in the heat tonight to
set up a gold medal race tomorrow against Great Britain.

They took 0.938 of a second off the mark Brown, Lancaster, Roberts and Peter Dawson
set at the world championships in Stuttgart last year.

"I enjoyed this so much, we have improved four seconds on our ride this morning," McGee said.

"We will make sure we win gold tomorrow."

McGee took the silver in the individual pursuit yesterday to go with three bronze medals
from the 1996 and 2000 Games.

"It will be my first gold medal. But for me personally the individual events count.

But for me as an Australian the team pursuit is the most important."

Bayley and Meares both rode the fastest times in the qualifying rounds of their sprint
and are looking good for the quarters tomorrow with the semis and final on Tuesday.

Sprinter Sean Eadie's Games are over after bowing out in the repechages tonight.

AAP pmu/mo

KEYWORD: OLY CYC AUST DAYLEAD

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