Edmondson Stakes Claim For Selection

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South Australia's Annette Edmondson has staked her claim for Olympic selection after recording the fastest time ever ridden on Australian soil for the 3000 metre individual pursuit during today's qualifying session of the 2012 Subaru Cycling Australia Track National Championships.

Edmondson, 20, scorched around the Adelaide Super-Drome in 3:30.586 to shave 18 thousandths of a second of the time of 3:30.604 set by New Zealand's Sarah Ulmer in the individual pursuit final at the 2004 World Championships held in Melbourne.

"I was hoping to do a 33 or so and to go out and do a 30 is really exciting" said Edmondson, who slashed seven seconds off her own
previous best time. "So to go out and do a time like that in qualifying is really important to me.

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"I didn't even realise it (the record) was eight years' standing. That's awesome, it still hasn't really sunk in. (But) it's not over yet though, I've got to go out and do it again, show I can back up.

"Given this is the Olympic year and I want to make the world champs, which are very soon, the event I want to win is the individual pursuit," added Edmondson who in 2008 was the silver medallist in the sprint and in 2009 claimed bronze in the keirin at the Junior World Championships. She then switched to endurance events and today's performance proves that was a smart move.

Edmondson will face 2012 Australian omnium champion Ashlee Ankudinoff in tonight's gold medal final after the Sydney rider clocked 3:32.614 for the twelve lap event.

Defending champion Josephine Tomic (WA) recorded 3:34.772 and will race team mate Melissa Hoskins (3:37.751) for the bronze medal ride.

In the men's team pursuit qualifying, the Super-Drome was awash with rainbow jerseys with Australia's four reigning team pursuit world
champions in action. Jack Bobridge and Rohan Dennis lined up for South Australia, Michael Hepburn for Queensland and Luke Durbridge for the West Australian team.

Bobridge and Dennis were joined by Alexander Edmondson and Glenn O'Shea with the quartet posting the fastest time of 4:02.567. They
will face Hepburn, Mitchell Mulhern, Nicholas Schultz and Jesse Kerrison (4:07.250) in the final.

The Queensland quartet suffered a mishap just after they crossed the finish line when Mulhern and Shultz touched wheels and crashed but both walked away relatively unscathed.

Durbridge with Michael Freiberg, Stephen Hall and Bradley Robson stopped the clock at 4:08.556 and will meet the New South Wales team of Benjamin Harvey, Scott and Jackson Law and Jackson-Leigh Rathbone (4:08.648) to decide the bronze medal.

In the under 19 women's 500m time trial final, Queensland's Taylah Jennings blitzed the field to collect her second gold medal of the
championships. The dual 2011 junior world champion added to the scratch race gold she won on the opening night of competition, stopping the clock in 35.403, well ahead of Victoria's Caitlin Ward (36.228). West Australia's Tian Beckett (36.520) claimed the bronze medal.

"I have been aiming to win this since the first year I came to nationals in the under fifteens, so to finally break through it is a really great achievement," said Jennings, 17, referring to her three consecutive silver medals in the time trial across the under 19 and 17 categories. "I have done more pursuit training, which is strange, but I think because I have wanted it so bad, and worked on my starting, it paid
off. I felt fast today, my best time before this was a 36.1, so it's pretty good for me."

The session also saw the elite sprint competition begin with the flying 200 metre qualifying rounds for men and women. South Australia's Matthew Glaetzer (10.100) posted the best time ahead of Andrew Taylor (NSW) (10.123), with Victoria's Shane Perkins third fastest in 10.158. Canberra's Alex Bird was fourth fastest with his time of 10.230.

Reigning sprint world champion Anna Meares delighted the home crowd by recording the fastest time in the women's round of 11.133. Kaarle McCulloch (NSW) was second fastest in 11.219, while Victoria's Ziggy Callan (11.689) and Cassandra Kell (NSW) (11.832) rounded out the top four.

The sprint rounds continue tonight with the finals being contested tomorrow night. In the under 19 men's sprint, South Australia's Alex Radikiewicz and Jai Angsuthasawit and Victoria's Emerson Harwood and Jacob Schmid will contest the semi finals.

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