ABOUT
Australia’s first female Olympic medallist in track sprint, Michelle Ferris will become the fourth female track cyclist to be inducted into the Cycling Australia Hall of Fame.
Hailing from the Victorian town of Warrnambool, Ferris discovered her love of cycling in high school after being given the opportunity to take part in a charity ride for the local hospital.
Ferris’ breakthrough came in 1992 at the inaugural junior national women’s championships where she clocked times faster than two women aiming for Barcelona Olympic Games selection.
Two years later at just 18 years of age, she won sprint silver for Australia at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada.
Ferris’ first taste of Olympic success came at the 1996 Atlanta Games where she posted the fastest qualifying time before being denied gold by legendary Félicia Ballanger in the sprint final. On home soil four years later in Sydney, Ferris claimed time trial silver and finished fourth in the sprint.
During her World Championships career, Michelle claimed seven career medals, including three consecutive sprint silver medals (1997-98-99) where she was edged by Ballanger each time, and four medals in the time trial.
