Securing sprinting’s future for women via the Olympic Fast Track Program

Australia boasts a strong history of success in women's track sprint cycling, with Olympic champion and eleven-time world champion Anna Meares achieving stunning success for more than a decade.

In recent years Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch achieved repeated success on the world stage, including winning the team sprint World Championship in 2019.

2020 saw a significant step for equality in women’s sprint cycling, with the UCI adding a third rider to the women's team sprint which achieved parity with the men’s event.

With limited depth in the current pathway, the Australian Cycling Team is taking a novel approach to developing the women’s sprint team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

As a core component of the Australian Cycling Team’s gold-medal strategy, the Olympic Fast Track Program will seek to recruit exceptional athletes from outside the sport of cycling and will aim to deliver them to the top step of the Olympic podium within one Olympic cycle.

The vision is to develop an Olympic gold-medal-winning women’s team sprint combination whose journey to success positively impacts the future and supports a tangible step forward for women in the sport.

As a world-leader in sprint cycling knowledge and practice, the Australian Cycling Team is excited about the opportunity to extend and drive-forward the program’s approaches, with athletes on the program experiencing an exciting culture of learning, challenge, and change.

The program presents an alternative model to developing world-beating athletes, utilising innovative thinking and practices, including exploring and developing an environment purposefully designed for women.

Lynne Munro - Head of Olympic Fast Track Program | Australian Cycling Team

“This is an exciting program, taking targeted action and using innovative approaches to ensure we deliver a world-beating women’s team sprint for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games while leveraging the opportunity to really make a difference for the future of women’s sprint."

“It’s a bold vision, but there is a big opportunity here to lead the way, not only for our sport but shaping the design of performance environments for women.”

“As one of the most successful nations in track sprint, we have a depth of knowledge and experience to capitalize on and we will be pushing the boundaries of our coaching and preparation practices within the program."

“We want to harness the excitement of the opportunity, have people involved who contribute to the unique energy around the program.

“Taking athletes new to the sport to the Olympic podium in a single cycle is a lofty goal, and we are looking for athletes that thrive on this degree of challenge, people who want to step out and find the next level in who they are and what they’re capable of.”

Get Involved

The program presents the opportunity of a fast and direct pathway to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Australian Cycling Team is keen to hear from athletes who think they might be suited and want to be part of this exceptional program.

Whether this offers you a new or additional challenge to your current sport or training background, we want to hear from athletes inspired by this opportunity.

Ideal athletes will have high levels of leg power, speed or acceleration, for example in running, jumping or weightlifting, be highly motivated to challenge beyond limits and drive themselves and their team forward.

Appropriate candidates will be offered entry to initial testing to assess their profile and potential. Future stages will work with a selected squad of athletes through progressive assessment and development.

Express your interest online through our website: australiancyclingteam.com/olympicfasttrack