Megan Rossee: Victoria Pendleton 2012

Full name :Victoria Louise Pendleton
Date of birth: 24/09/1980
From: Hitchin, Hertfordshire
Disciplines: Track (sprint)
Team: Sky Track Cycling
Previous teams: Science in Sport/Trek
Height: 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight: 62 kg (140 lb; 9.8 st)

Olympic and World Champion Victoria Pendleton began her cycling career on the grass track at the age of 9 – a discipline in which her father Max was national champion. She was spotted by the GB team at the age of 13, but chose to focus on her studies and gained her degree in Sport and Exercise Science at Northumbria University. But being a full-time student didn’t stop Victoria wanting to compete, and she won four medals in the National Track Championships in 2001, before turning to Track sprinting full time in 2002.

In 2005, Victoria won her first World Championship title, taking Gold in the Sprint. She was second in 2006, but regained the title in 2007 and successfully defended it in 2008 and 2009.

2007 was a great year for Victoria, seeing her win no less than three World Championship medals – she added the Team Sprint and Keirin titles to her Sprint gold. This achievement saw her be crowned as The Times Sportswoman of the Year as well as the Sports Journalists of Great Britain’s Sportswoman of the Year.

Victoria Pendleton