Anna Meares has dominated at the Melbourne World Cup of cycling. Against elite cyclists, Anna Meares clearly demonstrated she has recovered from her previous injuries:

“Track cycling star Anna Meares won her third gold medal at the Melbourne World Cup with the same move that nearly killed her.

Caught out of position, Meares launched a scorching charge from the rear of the field with two laps left in Saturday night’s keirin final.

No-one could follow her and she stayed clear for an outstanding win.”

link to the article by Roger Vaughan for the Sydney Morning Herald

[Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images]

A report in the BBC show that there is a disproportionate number of female fatalities involving cyclists. Women constitute less than thirty per cent of the number of cyclists in the UK. These data may be extrapolated to other regions:

“… These deaths could be attributed to a tragic anomaly, but some cycling campaigners are concerned whether there is something about how women cycle which puts them at greater risk from lorries.

“It’s something we’re trying to understand. When you look at HGV accidents there are a lot more women involved than you would expect. We don’t know why that is,” says Charlie Lloyd, from the London Cycling Campaign.”

link to the article by Sarah Bell for the BBC News

British cyclist Nicole Cooke won the World Championship Road Race in 2008. In trying to defend her championship, she had to withdraw:

“Briton Nicole Cooke’s defence of the women’s World Championship road race title ended in the most dispiriting fashion today after she withdrew midway through the event in Mendrisio.

Cooke, who has been struggling with the after-effects of a virus, was well off the pace when she pulled out 45 miles in, leaving compatriot Emma Pooley to carry the flag for Team GB.”

link to the article in the Daily Mail

link to the website for Nicole Cooke

additional link:  Nicole Cooke pulls out of road race as her world title slips away

[Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images]

One does not usually associate cycling with a peace movement. However, that is exactly what it is when hundreds of women cyclists gather in the Middle East:

“… Cheryl N. Wolfe will be part of such an uncommon sight in October when she joins a handful of Massachusetts women in Follow the Women for Peace, an international initiative that has involved more than 500 women from 40 different countries in Women Bike Rides for Peace in the Middle East since 2004.

A strong women-only group is a unique way of attracting media attention for advocating peace and security while it symbolizes freedom of movement as a basic human right, participants believe. By cycling together, they show solidarity, make friends across cultural, religious and geographic divides and stress that women want to be part of decision making and solutions for a better future.”

link to the article by Cori Urban for The Republican

Becky James came to sprint cycling through mountain biking. She had been interested in mountain biking since the age of eleven. Now, at seventeen, she is enjoying success in sprint cycling, with a possible goal of representing Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games:

“Less than a month ago Becky James was a relative unknown outside the cycling world.

But at the Junior World Track Championships in Moscow, Russia, the 17-year-old announced her talent to the world with two golds, a silver and a world record.”

link to the article by Bruce Pope for the BBC

additional link: Becky James: Double World Champion

additional link:  Junior World Track Championships 2009

[Photo via Newscom]

The New York Times has the AP article:

Olympic champion loses

“In the women’s event, Irina Kalentieva of Russia won gold, with Lene Byberg of Norway second and Willow Koerber of the United States third.. . .”

The story here: Olympic champion loses

A skiing injury to her knee followed by an extensive rehabilitation period forced Jerika Hutchinson to work on a bicycle. In the process, she embraced cycling as a sport and has become one of the promising young riders in the United States:

“…The 5-foot-6 blonde already has two junior national time trial championships to her credit and a third-place finish at the 2007 Junior World Time Trial Championships.

She also is in her first season as a pro cyclist and rides for Tibco, one of the top female pro cycling teams in the country and is in USA Cycling’s development program with her sights set on making the Summer Olympics one day, possibly as early as 2012 in London.”

link: Mount Shasta’s Hutchinson is among nation’s most promising female cyclists

She is only eighteen years old. Living in the shadow of Mount Shasta, Jerika Hutchinson is in a natural high altitude training location.

The destination for those mountain rides, and that training, is the London Olympics in 2012.

Catherine Forsythe

[photo credit: jerikahutchinson.com]

In a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones famously comments on aging. “It’s not the years. . .it’s the mileage.”

Some athletes are proving that the mileage can be to a certain extent somewhat.

Take Tom Watson, for example. At almost sixty, Tom Watson was one putt away from winning the British Open at Turnberry this year. He lost in a playoff, but fifty-nine year old golfers are not expected to be in contention at a golf major.

Lance Armstrong made a well publicized return to Tour de France competition. Cycling through the various stages of the Tour is one of the world’s most prolonged, grueling athletic competitions stretched over weeks. After four years of retirement, Armstrong had been away from world class competition. Despite that absence, he came second in the Tour de France.

It is not only men who are redefining age. Constantina Tomescu Dita, the defending Olympic marathon champion, made history in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics by winning the women’s marathon and becoming the oldest Olympian to take marathon gold. It is staggering to consider the cumulative distance she must have covered over the years of running and training. Her physiology did not let her down.

Five-time Olympian Dara Torres was forty one at the Beijing Olympics, older by Olympic standards. In the swimming pool, some of her competitors were less than half her age. Torres won three silver medals only a fraction of a fraction of a second from Olympic gold. Some wondered how this was possible and questioned whether Torres used performance-enhancing drugs. She has never tested positive, and has welcomed all drug testing.

The impact on age might be mitigated by training and advanced research on physiology. There are strict diet regimes and focused specialities like sports medicine. Quite simply, athletes are taking better care of themselves, and the stresses of travel are eased sometimes by private jets. The uniqueness of their genetic history might also be relevant. There are likely to be more examples of experienced athletes as the ‘baby boomer’ generation ages.

Another Olympian is fighting back against time and focused on the 2012 London Olympics. Olympic champion Nastia Liukin still believes she can compete with the younger gymnasts. She is now regarded an elder in her sport–at nineteen.

Catherine Forsythe

Your mother will most likely remember her physician telling her to avoid exercise and a range of physical activities during the delicate period of pregnancy. However, current published research in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons [http://www.jaaos.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/8/504] suggests moderate physical activity like swimming, resistance training and swimming while pregnant.  Not only should exercise not be avoided during those months under normal circumstances, it can be beneficial:

“… the researchers conclude that exercise can ease back pain and other musculoskeletal pain, lower maternal blood pressure, reduce swelling and improve mood — one study of depressed pregnant women found that exercise helped decrease depression, and another study saw that exercise during pregnancy improves self-esteem.”

link: Study: Healthy Pregnant Women Should Exercise [ http://www.usnews.com/articles/science/medical-science/2009/08/05/study-healthy-pregnant-women-should-exercise.html ]

Additionally, the benefits of exercise during pregnancy can impact issues like postpartum depression.  Continued research is necessary to fully determine the extent of such benefits.  Longitudinal paradigms will be required to assess whether moderate exercise during pregnancy has significant positive health implications for early childhood development.

In some countries, the suggestion of physical activities during pregnancy is an accepted and necessary way of life. Physical activity is, in those cultures, considered essential for the everyday survival of the family.

Catherine Forsythe

Ask most Americans to name a world class cyclist and the answer will most likely be”Lance Armstrong,” the most recognizable name in cycling in recent years. There is another American cyclist who has potential to be a world class cycling champion. Her name is Evelyn Stevens. Chances are most people have not heard of her. She is relatively new to the cycling world and has a unique physiology:

“…Exactly what makes Ms. Stevens so physiologically different is still somewhat of a mystery. Football players have big biceps, and baseball players have incredibly fast reflexes. The exceptional attributes of cyclists and other endurance athletes are less obvious; they’re hidden in their blood and their lungs. For this reason, it’s not uncommon, especially in women’s cycling, for athletes to discover their hidden talents late in life, after leaving other sports like soccer or swimming. “You can have this mild-mannered kind of Clark Kent with glasses working 45 hours a week, and they get on the bike and find they have this tremendous engine,” says Matt Koschara, Stevens’ cycling coach, who also coaches other cyclists in the New York area.

link: Cycling’s One-in-a-Million Story

The secret to the unique physiology that Stevens enjoys might rest eventually with her family tree. It’s possible her body uses oxygen far more efficiently than normal. Her muscles might convert oxygen, output work and recover far beyond what is typically seen. All of that might impact Stevens’ tolerance for muscle pain.

Stevens’ success could attract skepticism, as some will wonder if there are any chemical aids to her cycling performance. Lance Armstrong’s success has attracted similar doubt, with accusations of performance enhancing drugs. Other sports face ongoing drug scandals and are suspending athletes who test positive.

It might be reasonable for Stevens to volunteer to be tested for drugs frequently, as she is competing in the sports world at a time it is considered wise to be proactive in establishing one’s innocence and compliance with the rules.

Catherine Forsythe