 Ulmer at the 2002Women's Challenge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sarah Elizabeth Ulmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1976-03-14)14 March 1976 (age 49) Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 167 cm (5 ft5+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb; 10.1 st) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road and track | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rider type | Pursuiter / points race / time-trialist / road racer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sarah Elizabeth UlmerONZM (born 14 March 1976) is a New Zealand former competitive cyclist. She is the first New Zealander to win an Olympic cycling gold medal, which she won in the3km individual pursuit at the 2004 Athens Olympics setting a world record.
After the 2004 Olympics, she held the Olympic, Commonwealth and World Championship Pursuit titles, and the records for those events.
Ulmer was born inAuckland, where she studied at theDiocesan School for Girls.Her grandfatherRon Ulmer was a track cyclist for New Zealand at the1938 British Empire Games.Her father Gary was a national road and track champion.[1]
In 1994, she won the World Junior Championship and placed second at the1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada with a time of 3 minutes 51 seconds.
At the1996 Atlanta Olympics, she was seventh after qualifying 6th with 3m 43s.[2]
At the1998 Commonwealth Games inKuala Lumpur, she won the gold medal with 3m 41.7s.[3]
At the2000 Sydney Olympics, she qualified 4th with 3m 36.8s and came 4th after losing the ride off for third by 0.08 of a second.[2]
At the2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, she won the gold and set a games record of 3m 32.4s.[4]
In May 2004, she won theWorld Championship inMelbourne and set a world record of3m 30.6s in qualifying.[5]At the Athens2004 Olympics she broke the world record in qualifying with3m 26.4s and took almost two seconds off that time to win the gold in the final with 3m 24.5s. Ulmer reduced the world record by six seconds.The silver and bronze medalists,Katie Mactier fromAustralia andLeontien Ziljaard-van Moorsel from theNetherlands, also went under the previous world record (3m 30.6s) in each of their three rides. They rode faster with each ride and rode 3m 27.6s and 3m 27.0s respectively in the finals.
In May 2010 at Aguascalientes, Mexico at an altitude of 1,870 metres (6,140 ft), AmericanSarah Hammer broke Ulmer's world record with a time of 3m 22.269s. As of September 2014 nine currentworld cycling records for distances of 4 km or less have been set at Aguascalientes.
The current world championship record of 3m 27.268s was set by fellow New Zealander,Alison Shanks in Melbourne in 2012.[6]
Ulmer did well inpoints races, winning a junior world championship and placing 3rd and 4th at senior world championships. She placed 2nd and 5th (twice) at Commonwealth Games.
After the 2004 Olympics she switched to road racing. The Cycling Archives website includes results for her competing in road races in the US, France, Australia, Belgium and Germany from 1999 to 2006.[7]
Ulmer trained at the velodrome inTe Awamutu. Her home town isCambridge. Ulmer has two daughters.[1]
In the2005 New Year Honours, Ulmer was made anOfficer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to cycling.[8]
Ulmer announced her retirement from cycling on 24 November 2007.[9] She attended the 2008 Olympics as a mentor.[10]
In 2011, Ulmer signed up as an 'ambassador' for theNew Zealand Cycle Trail.[11]
Source:[7][12][13][14] All pursuits are 3 km individual, apart from two 2 km junior pursuits.
Pursuit World Junior Championships (2km)
Pursuit World Junior Championships (2km) Points Race World Junior ChampionshipsPursuit Commonwealth Games
Pursuit Commonwealth GamesPoints Race Commonwealth Games
Points Race World Championships[15]
National Criterium Championships National Criterium ChampionshipsPursuit Commonwealth Games[4]Pursuit World Championships[5]Pursuit Olympic GamesNational Road Race ChampionshipsNational Time Trial Championships
Road Race Oceania Games Time Trial Oceania Games
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| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New Zealand's Sportswoman of the Year 1994 2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Halberg Awards – Supreme Award 2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lonsdale Cup of theNew Zealand Olympic Committee 2002 2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell | Succeeded by 1982 rowing eight | |
