Kathy Watt facts for kids
Watt at the 1999 Women's Challenge
|
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kathryn Ann Watt |
| Born | 11 September 1964 |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road and track |
| Role | Rider |
Kathryn "Kathy" Ann Watt (born 11 September 1964) is a famous Australian racing cyclist. She won two medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. She earned a gold medal in the road race and a silver medal in the pursuit event.
Kathy Watt has achieved a lot in her cycling career. She has won 24 national championships across different types of cycling, including road, track, and mountain biking. She also has four gold medals from the Commonwealth Games. In addition, she placed third in the world time trial championship. In 1990, she became a life member of the Blackburn Cycling Club. She also received a special scholarship from the Australian Institute of Sport to help her train.
Contents
From Running to Cycling
Kathy Watt is the daughter of Geoff Watt, a well-known marathon runner. At first, Kathy followed in her father's footsteps and became a runner. She even won the national junior 3-kilometer championship.
However, she started having problems with her achilles tendon, which made running difficult. So, she began training on a bike instead. For a while, she competed in duathlon, which combines running and cycling. But she soon realized she was much better at cycling than running. This led her to focus completely on cycling.
Olympic Challenges and Comebacks
Kathy Watt faced some challenges during her career, especially when it came to being chosen for the Olympic Games.
In 1996, there was a disagreement with the Australian Cycling Federation about who would race in the pursuit event at the Olympics. Kathy had been told she would race, but then another cyclist was chosen instead. She challenged this decision, and a court ordered that she be put back in the race.
In 2000, Kathy was again involved in a selection issue for the Olympics. This time, her appeal was not successful.
After the 2000 Olympics, Kathy retired from cycling. But she loved the sport too much to stay away! Three years later, she made a comeback and tried to qualify for the 2004 Olympics, but she didn't make the team.
She retired again and started working as a coach and personal trainer. However, she decided to make another comeback to try for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. This time, she was successful! She won a silver medal in the time trial event. In January 2006, she also won the time trial section of the Australian open road championship.
Life Outside Cycling
Kathy Watt is not just a talented athlete; she is also very smart. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Melbourne. Her main studies were in physiology and pathology. This means she learned a lot about how the human body works and how diseases affect it. She also studied nutrition, anatomy, and physiotherapy.
Kathy attended Tintern Church of England Girls' Grammar, which is now known as Tintern Grammar.
In 2015, Kathy Watt was honored for her amazing career. She was one of the very first people to be inducted into the Cycling Australia Hall of Fame. This shows how important and respected she is in Australian cycling history.
Major Achievements
Kathy Watt had many impressive wins throughout her career. Here are some of her most important achievements:
- 1990 Commonwealth Games: Gold medal in the Road Race and silver medal in the Track Pursuit.
- 1992 Olympic Games: Gold medal in the Road Race and silver medal in the 3 km Pursuit (track).
- 1992: Australian Road Race Championships – 1st place.
- 1994 Commonwealth Games: Gold medals in both the Road Race and the Team Time Trial. She also won a gold medal in the 3000m Pursuit.
- 1995: World Time Trial Championship – 3rd place.
- 1996: Australian Championships – 1st place in the Time Trial.
- 1997: Oceania Championships – 1st place in the Time Trial.
- 1998 Commonwealth Games: Bronze medals in both the Road Race and the Individual Time Trial.
- 2005: Chrono Champenois – 1st place.
- 2006 Commonwealth Games: Silver medal in the Individual Road Time Trial. She also won the Australian Open Road Championship Time Trial.
- 2007: 1st Overall Tour de Perth.
Images for kids
-
Australian National Champion jersey
See also
In Spanish: Kathryn Watt para niños
