Kathy Watt

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Kathy Watt

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image_caption = Watt at the 1999 Women's Challenge
fullname = Kathryn Ann Watt
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dateofbirth = birth date and age|1964|9|11
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country = AUS
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updated = September 5, 2008
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Kathryn ("Kathy") Ann 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. She was awarded life membership of the [http://www.bbn.org.au Blackburn Cycling Club] in 1990.

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 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. In January 2006, she gained first place in the individual women's time trial section of the Australian Open Road Cycling Championships, held in Buninyong, Ballarat.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Melbourne, with a major in physiology and pathology. She also studied nutrition, anatomy, and physiotherapy. Prior to tertiary study, she attended Tintern Church of England Girls' Grammar, now Tintern Girls Grammar School.

Palmarès

;1990:Commonwealth Games::Road Race - 1st place::Track Pursuit - 2nd place:Giro d'Italia::Final Overall GC - 3rd place::1 stage victory;1992:Olympic Games::Road Race - Gold Medal::3 km Pursuit (track) - Silver Medal:Australian Road Race Championships - 1st place;1994:Giro d'Italia::Final Overall GC - 2nd place::3 stage victories:Giro del Piave - 1st place:Canberra Stage Race::Final Overall GC - 1st place::5 stage victories;1995:World Time Trial Championships - 3rd place;1996:Australian Championships::Road Race - 2nd place::Time Trial - 1st place;1997:Oceania Championships::Road Race - 2nd place::Time Trial - 1st 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;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;2005:Chrono Champenois - 1st place:GP International Feminin Bretagne (cat. 2) - 2nd place GC:Thuringen-Rundfahrt (cat. 1) - stage victory;2006:Commonwealth Games::Individual road time trial - 2nd place::Australian Open Road Championships Time Trial - 1st place;2007:Australian Open Road Championships::Time Trial - 2nd place::Road Race - 9th place;2008:Australian Open Road Championships::Time Trial - 4th place::Road Race - 19th place

External links

* [http://www.kathywatt.com Kathy Watt's web site]