"The weather could be better," joked Anna Meares as torrential rain bucketed down at her new family home which backs onto the rolling hills of a Waikato dairy farm.
Meares retired as an athlete in 2016. Early last year she and her husband, Nick Flyger, along with their two kids moved to New Zealand after he was appointed Cycling New Zealand’s lead sprint coach.
"The plan was to allow Nick to do his job and support him, and potentially look for work within the sporting system here in New Zealand," said Meares.
But it’s funny how plans can change.
During a public speaking engagement in Australia, she put her long-term goal into the universe, mentioning she’d love to be Australia’s Chef de Mission. The next day, she got a phone call from someone who could make it happen.
“I was like, 'We might have a problem – I live in New Zealand now' and they were like, 'No, that's not a problem'," she said. "I was like, 'My husband coaches for New Zealand now'. [They said] 'that's not a problem'.
"I was like, 'OK, let's see if we can make this work' and we're trying."
Juggling two high performance schedules – one on the other side of the Tasman – and two kids under four isn’t easy, but they are making it work. It's not surprising considering what Meares has accomplished.
The 39-year-old, whose father was born in Nelson, is the most successful female in UCI track cycling World Championships history – she's also Australia’s most decorated Olympic cyclist, having attending four different Games and winning three gold medals.
"It's addictive. The sporting lifestyle's addictive. The Olympics are really rare and winning is even rarer and I just couldn’t help but find myself continuing to step back into circles where sport and for me, Australia was involved.
“'I’m getting my fix with competition again with my work but it's from a different perspective. It's a chance to make a small impact on someone else's ability to achieve and that's what makes me get out of bed every morning.”
In Australia she’s a household name and even has a velodrome in Brisbane named after her. But on this side of the ditch – outside of sporting circles – she goes under the radar, which leads to some awkward conversations with new friends.
She said: "They get to know me and then all of a sudden the penny might drop or a comment might come up and they're like, 'What do you mean you went to the Olympics?' and I'm like, 'Oh, we've got to have this conversation', and then they beat me around the ears."
Her secret will be out of the bag by the time Paris 2024 rolls around, even if loyalties in the Meares household will be well and truly split.
"I hope to be celebrating with a few of the Aussies and if Nick happens to win as well, I will also celebrate with him and his team and the NZ Olympic team. I'm not past that point."
SHARE ME