Anna Meares – The Anna Meares Story

The following synopsis is from
www.borders.com.au

The Anna Meares Story

The Anna Meares Story is the story of the grit and determination of a young woman who overcame major life-threatening trauma to realise what she had barely been able to dream about. Olympic track cyclist Anna Meares experienced a career-stopping heavy fall during a time trial at the World Cup in Los Angeles in January 2008, less than eight months out from the Beijing Olympic Games. Falling on the hard, wooden velodrome floor at a speed of 65 kilometres an hour, Anna Meares suffered a fractured neck, a dislocated shoulder, torn ligaments. She was millimetres away from permanent injury. This book covers Anna Meares amazing and inspirational recovery to not only compete at the Beijing Olympic Games but to win a silver medal. It is the inside world of an elite athlete, the ups and downs of Olympic selection and her doubts and triumphs along the way.

Chris’ Review

I must admit that when I picked up this book I didnt know much about Anna Meares. Looking at the back cover and seeing her in a wheelchair and looking beat up, I knew that she had been at the lowest of lows in her sport and had obvioulsy fought back. In some ways if Anna Meares had not fallen from her bike her true mental strength might never have  been on display for all to see. At least the world would not know how determined this athlete was to succeed at the Beijing Olympics only eight smonths after a fall that at best would have seen her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.  What a difference 2mm makes as in the end that was all that enabled her to get back on the bike and work hard for her place in the team . With other disappointments on the way to her Silver medal Anna Meares story is one of staying strong a and positive in a time when she could have given up. She didn’t and that is why her attitude makes her a bigger champion than any medal could.

No Comments

Chris Bellesini, May 17th 2011 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Book Reviews

22 – Red Lights Can Be A Blessing

As I write this blog I am sitting on the curb about 100m from the finish line on the final stage of the Tour  Down Under in South Australia. I came over for the weekend to get a glimpse of one of my hero’s Lance Armstrong.  The atmosphere is electric as this man is truly one of the best athletes going around.

Chris Bellesini & Lance Armstrong

Last night I was lucky enough to attend the Legends Dinner to listen to Lance Armstrong speak as well as Australian legend and current world champion Cadel Evans. Coming up from Melbourne I knew no one so quickly made friends with the other cycling enthusiasts on my table. Nicole had a great story and I wanted to share it with you as in it lies a great message.

A few days earlier she had been riding with partner Chris and a group of cyclists up in the hills in Adelaide. They were pretty excited as they had seen many professional cyclists out that morning and days earlier had even seen Lance Armstrong and had even got a wave from him. A few days later again she was riding when she came up to a set of lights that when green… orange… red. Most of her group went through on the orange light but she opted to stop as it was about to go red.

Waiting at the lights a few cyclists also got caught at the red, suddenly a familiar face pulled up beside her. Yep it was Lance, the minute minute was spent talking to him and when another fan ran up and got an autograph she took the opportunity to get him to sign her jersey. The lights turned green and she wished him luck and they were off.

One thing that I have discovered is that you can coasting along in life when you are stopped at a red light which slows you down and can be frustrating, but it can also be a good time to rest and even present the opportunity of a lifestyle that had you been moving forward would have flown past you.

I know many people think they are behind because they don’t have a direction on their career, a house or relationship. But if they were to look at it as simply being stopped at a red light it would not be so bad. When you are not moving you have more freedom to look around and you just never know when that opportunity will present itself.

The closest I got to meeting with Lance Armstrong (for now) is in the photo on the right. But don’t worry my eyes are open and looking for opportunities in all areas of my life all the time.

Chris Bellesini
Remember, You Too, Can
Choose Your Own Success

1 Comment

Chris Bellesini, January 25th 2010 | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Latest News