Kathy Watt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Cycling | |||
| Gold | 1992 Barcelona | Road Race | |
| Silver | 1992 Barcelona | 3000m Pursuit | |
Kathy Watt is an Australian female cycle racer (born September 11, 1964) who won two Olympic medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain (Gold medal in the Road Race, and Silver medal in the 3 km track Pursuit). She has also won 24 Australian national championship titles in several disciplines (road racing, track racing, and mountain bike), 4 Commonwealth Games Gold medals, and scored a 3rd place finish in the World Time Trial Championships.
The daughter of a noted marathoner (Geoff Watt), Kathy Watt turned first to running as a sport, where she won the Australian national junior championship in the 3 km run. However, after experiencing achilles tendon problems, she began to train on the bike. For a while, she competed in duathlon (running and cycling), but worked to improve her cycling and eventually found that she was a better cyclist than runner.
In 1996, Watt became involved in a legal dispute with the Australian Cycling Federation over the issue of who would race the 3 km Pursuit in the Olympic Games. Earlier in the year, Watt had been told that she would be racing the event, but was then replaced only few days before the actual running of the event by another rider (Lucy Tyler-Sharman) who had turned in some very good times in the months leading up to the Olympics.
Watt appealed the case to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, claiming that there had been a breach of contract. In a decision which took on some importance in the history of sports law, the Court upheld her appeal and ordered Watt to be reinstated in the Pursuit race.
Following the Games, however, certain "character reference" comments made about her by Australian head coach Charlie Walsh led to a series of defamation lawsuits, from which Watt emerged victorious.
In 2000, Watt again became involved in a controversy over a selection decision, but this time, unlike 1996, she was not successful in her appeal to the CAS.
She retired after the 2000 season, but came back three years later in an attempt to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games, but was not successful. After another retirement from competitive cycling, Watt worked as a coach and personal trainer. However, she made another comeback in time to qualify for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where she won a silver medal in the women's individual time trial.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Melbourne University, with a major in physiology and pathology. She also studied nutrition, anatomy, and physiotherapy. She attended school at Tintern Church of England Girls' Grammar, now Tintern Girls' Grammar.
[edit] Palmarès
2006
- Commonwealth Games
- Individual road time trial - 2nd place
- Australian Open Road Time Trial - 1st place
2005
- Chrono Champenois - 1st place
- GP International Feminin Bretagne (cat. 2) - 2nd place GC
- Thuringen-Rundfahrt (cat. 1) - stage victory
1999
- Tour de 'Toona
- Overall GC - 2nd place
- stage 2 - 3rd place
- stage 4 - 2nd place
- stage 5 - 1st place
- Grazia Tour
- Overall GC - 7th place
- stage 3 - 3rd place
- Women's Challenge
- stage 4 (Sun Valley Time Trial) - 5th place
- stage 9 (Burley to Buhl) - 2nd place
- Tour de Snowy
- stage 5 - 3rd place
1998
- World Time Trial Championships - 6th place
- GP des Nations Time Trial - 2nd place
- Grande Boucle (Tour Cycliste Feminin)
- stage 12b - 3rd place
- Tour Feminin de Bretagne
- Overall GC - 2nd place
- Prologue - 2nd place
- stage 1 - 1st place
- stage 5 - 2nd place
- Grazia Tour
- Overall GC - 2nd place
- stage 2 - 2nd place
- stage 3 - 3rd place
- stage 4 - 1st place
- Tour de l'Aude
- Overall GC - 7th place
- Prologue Time Trial (Gruissan) - 2nd place
- stage 5 (Castelnaudary TT)- 2nd place
- stage 6a (Axat to Belcaire) - 2nd place
- GP Presov and Pravda
- Overall GC - 1st place
- stage 1 (TT) - 1st place
- stage 2 (Criterium) - 2nd place
- stage 3 (Road Race) - 3rd place
- stage 4 (Road Race) - 3rd place
Prior to 1998
- 1997 Oceania Championships
- Road Race - 2nd place
- Time Trial - 1st place
- 1996 Australian Championships
- Road Race - 2nd place
- Time Trial - 1st place
- 1995 World Time Trial Championships - 3rd place
- 1994 Giro d'Italia
- Final Overall GC - 2nd place
- 3 stage victories
- 1994 Giro del Piave - 1st place
- 1994 Canberra Stage Race
- Final Overall GC - 1st place
- 5 stage victories
- 1992 Olympic Games
- Road Race - Gold Medal
- 3 km Pursuit (track) - Silver Medal
- 1992 Australian Road Race Championships - 1st place
- 1990 Commonwealth Games
- Road Race - 1st place
- Track Pursuit - 2nd place
- 1990 Giro d'Italia
- Final Overall GC - 3rd place
- 1 stage victory
