Amy Gillett (9 January 1976–18 July 2005) was an Australian track cyclist and rower who represented Australia in both sports before her death in a training accident when a motorist crashed into the Australian squad of cyclists with whom she was training.
She was born Amy Safe in Adelaide[1] and was educated at Annesley College.[2] She was a world champion junior rower winning a gold medal in the coxless pairs in the Junior World Championships in 1993 and the women's single scull in 1994.[3] Safe came fifth in the single scull in the Nations Cup held in Paris the same year.[4]
At 20, she was a member of the Australian women's eight at the Atlanta Olympics.[1] She was coached by Simon Gillett during her rowing career and later married him in January 2004 moving to Mount Helen near Ballarat. After failing to make the Australian rowing team for the Sydney Olympics she quit the sport[1] but was identified as a cyclist with potential.
In 2002 Gillett was first in the Individual Pursuit Australian Titles, held in Victoria.[5] From 2002 to 2005, she was a member of the Australian Institute of Sport elite cycling squad and represented Australia in the 2002 and 2003 Cycling World Cups.[5] While she was not a member of the Australian cycling team for the 2004 Athens Olympics, her results during 2005 were steadily improving including a third place in the 2005 Road Time Trial Australian Open Titles.[5] She was rated as one of the top 100 women road cyclists at the time of her death and Australian cycling officials had identified her as a potential medallist in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in the time trial.[6]
Gillett died after an accident near Zeulenroda, Germany on 18 July 2005, when a young German driver lost control of her car and drove head first into the cycling squad.[6][7] Five of Gillett's Australian team mates suffered injuries, most very serious. Katie Brown, Lorian Graham, Kate Nichols, Alexis Rhodes and Louise Yaxley were taken immediately to hospital, with Rhodes and Yaxley suffering major trauma. Graham and Brown had incurred fractures and Nichols had torn tendons requiring surgery. Gillett was undertaking a Doctorate at the University of South Australia at the time of her death.[6]
Simon Gillett and the Australian Cycling Federation subsequently established the Amy Gillett Foundation which aims to:
On the first anniversary of the death of Amy, the Foundation launched a television advertisement to improve understanding between cyclists and motorists on Australian roads.[9]
In January 2010 the Amy Gillett Bikeway was opened at Oakbank, SA[10]. The Bikeway follows a section of the former Mount Pleasant railway line.