World Junior Track Cycling Championships - CDM

Australia, August 21-25 2002

Event program and results    Men's 1km TT    

Women's 500m time trial final

Second gold medal and tears of joy for Italian teen

By Karen Forman In Melbourne

Elisa Frisoni is overcome with joy
Photo: © Tom Balks

ITALY's newest junior world champion Elisa Frisoni added a second gold medal to her 2002 World Junior Track Championships tonight with an emotional win in the women's 500m time trial.

Fresh from her victory in the women's keirin the previous night, the 17 year old agriculture student from Verona in Italy's north beat French rider Emilie Jeannot and German Jenni Stohschneider in 36.195.

But Frisoni was the first of the 10 riders to set off and faced a nerve wracking wait when both Jeannot and Stohschneider came very close to her time with 37.268 and 37.490, respectively.

Watching the scoreboard at the conclusion of Jeannot's ride, Frisoni burst into tears when she learned the French girl had not eclipsed her - then got straight onto her mobile telephone to give the news to her boyfriend, former rider Francesco, on his lunchbreak back home in Verona.

The shy dark haired youngster with huge legs said she had come to Australia for her first world championships to do well and although she had hoped to win the time trial after her totally surprising keirin win on Wednesday night, had not thought she would.

"I was very nervous," she said, sitting on the floor next to her rollers with her coach and manager, emotional tears smudging her eyeliner. "I was more nervous tonight than I was last night. To win was a major surprise. I did not expect to. I am very, very happy."

Frisoni now sets her sights on the sprint, where she says she is nervous about meeting "the blond Australian" (Lucy Stewart). Although she has been riding and competing since the age of nine, after following her father and brother into the sport, she has no major plans for her future.

Her coach, however, believes she has "big possibilities" of representating her country at Olympic and senior world championship level. "She had a good preparation for this event . . . many kilometres on the road for the first month and in the gym in the winter," he said. "And she trains on a track near Verona, although it is not an indoor velodrome. I think she has a lot of possibilities . . . also Athens."

Russian Anastasia Chulkova attracted great sympathy from the crowd when she pulled her foot out of her pedal at the start of her ride, but continued to score a slow 46.83. Commissaires later decided to allow her another start in last position, however misfortune struck again on that second attempt and despite double straps and an extra five minutes on the line spent tightening them, her foot came loose again.

Chinese rider Shi Wenya was second off the mark, scoring 37.645, following by Taiwanese Mei-Yu Hsiao 37.905, Japanese Tomoko Endo 37.978, New Zealander Rosanne Chee 39.592, American Rachel Herring 38.656 and Australian Rebecca Borgo who zoomed into bronze medal contention with 37.654.

Strohschneider then shot to second quickest in 37.490, but Jeannot flew home as final rider in 37.268...taking second and pushing the German into third position.

Photos

• Anastasia Chulkova of Russia dissapointed after twice pulling her foot from the pedal
• Emilie Jeannot added a silver medal to her "items to declare" list
• Elisa Frisoni on her way to Gold
• An elated Elisa Frisoni finds out she has won
• Francesco, ho vinto! Elisa Frisoni calls home
• Elisa Frisoni recieves her medal, hidden behind her National flag
• Yarra Primary School enjoy the free entry offered to school groups
• Just some of the crowd who came to watch the racing

Results

1 Elisa Frisoni (Italy)                36.195 (49.731 km/h)
2 Emilie Jeannot (France)              37.268
3 Jennifer Strohschneider (Germany)    37.490
4 Shi Wenya (China)                    37.645
5 Rebecca Borgo (Australia)            37.654
6 Mei-Yu Hsiao (Taiwan)                37.905
7 Tomoko Endo (Japan)                  37.978
8 Rachel Herring (USA)                 38.656
9 Rosanne Chee (New Zealand)           39.592
10 Anastasia Chulkova (Russia)         40.686