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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Dunedin, NZL |
| Higher education | Marketing, Nutrition - University of Otago: Dunedin, NZL |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Basketball, cooking, coffee shops, red wine and dining out with friends and family. (alisonshanks.co.nz, 07 Sep 2010) |
| Injuries | In 2007 she injured her shoulder and arm in a crash in Beijing, China. (infonews.co.nz, 28 Feb 2008) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Setting her personal best at the World Championships in Colombia in December 2011. (nz2012.com, 12 Dec 2011) |
| Other sports | She switched from representative netball to track cycling towards the end of 2005 and within just a few months competed in the individual pursuit at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. (geniusbikes.com, 22 Aug 2007) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | "It was always my dream to be a Silver Fern netballer but I got sick of too much time sitting on the bench so I jumped on a bike and turns out I was pretty good at it." |
General Interest | |
| Ambitions | To compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.(nz2012.com, 14 Jan 2012) |
| Awards and honours | She has been the Otago Sportswoman of the Year five years consecutively from 2007-2011. (seenindunedin.co.nz, 27 May 2011) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Craig Palmer [fiance] |
| Training Regime | She trains around 400km a week on the bike both in the velodrome and on the road along with regular weekly gym sessions. |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | She started riding to school at the age of seven and started racing at the age of 22. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2006 |
| Competing for | New Zealand |
| Tournament | World Cup |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "When wearing the black suit and knowing you have given everything for your teammates, for everyone back home on the couches and for yourself, that's when I'm so proud to be Kiwi." (nz2012.com, 10 Oct 2011) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Coach from which country? | New Zealand |
General Interest | |
| Other information | ROLE MODEL She is an Olympic Ambassador in New Zealand, which involves visiting schools around the country. (alisonshanks.co.nz, 13 Oct 2011) RELATIONSHIP She is engaged to her coach, Craig Palmer, and one way they keep their relationship professional is by not sharing a room while in competition. (odt.co.nz, 04 Jan 2012) BAD NEWS She was upset by the International Olympic Committee's decision to cut the individual pursuit from the 2012 Olympic Games in London. However, she will take part in the team pursuit and was part of the group that set the fastest ever time at sea level in November 2011. (odt.co.nz, 10 Nov 2011; trackcyclingnews.com, 21 Nov 2011) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Family | Fiance Craig Palmer |