The Australian women’s track cycling sprint team, consisting of Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) scholarship holders Anna Meares and Kaarle McCulloch, were tonight awarded the 2011 AIS Team of the Year award at a gala presentation held in Canberra.

Minister for Sport Mark Arbib said Meares and McCulloch had enjoyed a stellar year beginning with gold at the UCI Track World Cup in Manchester.

“The dynamic duo also combined to claim gold in the women’s team sprint at the 2011 UCI Track World Championship in Holland convincingly holding off their British rivals to secure the world crown for the third consecutive year,” Senator Arbib said.

“Being a world champion team in any sporting field takes a lot of skill, time and dedication over many years and it is a credit to Anna and Kaarle and their domination of the women’s sprint team event throughout 2011. 

“Their results were among the highlights of Australian sport this year and we are immensely proud of their efforts.”

Meares capped off an outstanding night by also being named the AIS Athlete of the Year.

The full list of award winners is on the 2011 Honour Roll at www.ausport.gov.au

Minister’s media contact: Alison Hill 0407 570 640/02 9364 2600