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| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Norwood CC; SASI: Australia |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Podiatry - University of South Australia: Adelaide, SA, AUS |
General Interest | |
| Injuries | She suffered 31 fractures between her neck and waist after a training accident in July 2005 where team-mate Amy Gillett lost her life. "On 18 July 2005 I was on a training ride in Germany with my Australia team-mates when a teenager driving the opposite way lost control of her car and crashed into us. Amy Gillett , who was leading the pack, was killed. I was taken to hospital in a critical condition. Things might have been different if I'd gone to the front of the pack, instead of Amy , or if we'd left five minutes earlier or later... but you can't think like that." Rhodes's doctors kept her unconscious and on an automatic ventilator. A week after the accident her German specialists lowered her sedation and allowed her to wake. Her breathing tube was removed as she requested they take it out and after checking lung function, they agreed. "I had broken seven vertebrae, 12 ribs, my scapula, my sternum and my nose. When I came out of the coma, I've been told that I didn't make a lot of sense. It was a really weird experience, like a dream. Apart from the back pain and the scars, it still doesn't seem like it happened." (cyclingnews.com, 06 Jan 2006, The Observer, 06 Jan 2008) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | "There wasn't much else to do in Alice Springs, where I grew up, so I joined my school's track-racing club. I thought it was awesome fun. At the start of my career, I spent most of my time crashing. I'd try to do things I probably shouldn't at that age. When I wasn't crashing, I'd go all right. There weren't many girls of my age racing in Alice Springs, so I'd race against the men. They didn't like it much when I beat them. I sure enjoyed it." |
General Interest | |
| Ambitions | To represent Australia at the World Championships and become a valuable member of her cycling team. (webcorcycling.com, 30 Aug 2010) |
| Awards and honours | She was named the Australian Female Junior Track Cyclist of the Year in 2002. (Cycling Australia, 27 Aug 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Ian McKenzie |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | She started cycling competitively at the age of 15 in 1999 in Alice Springs. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2006 |
| Competing for | Australia |
| Tournament | Commonwealth Games |
| Location | Melbourne |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Student |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Coach from which country? | Australia |