Just nine months ago, German-born Katrin Garfoot was inducted as a new Australian citizen.
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On Thursday morning in Glasgow, she stood proudly on the Commonwealth Games podium in the colours of her new country clutching a precious women’s time-trial bronze medal.
It continued the 32-year-old’s rapid rise in the international cycling world, and endeared her instantly to an Australian public which officially accepted her as one of their own in October last year.
Garfoot moved to Australia in 2008 after meeting husband Chris on the Gold Coast two years prior.
The decision to leave Munich was a life-changer. Not only did she discover cycling, but Garfoot opted to forego her German citizenship to compete for Australia at these Commonwealth Games.
“They drew the process out too long for me to keep it and I just wanted to have the opportunity to ride for Australia so I just had to drop my German citizenship,” Garfoot said.
“I find it quite ironic too that I was in Munich and I have to go back to Europe to actually do cycling, I hadn’t cycled before while I was in Europe but that’s just how life works, it does funny circles.”
Garfoot’s circle of the slippery Glasgow time-trial circuit on Thursday took her a little over 43 minutes (43:13.91), finishing within a minute of New Zealand winner Linda Villumsen.
She’ll have two days off now before contesting the road race which is what all of her training has been geared towards.
Villumsen won a silver medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, about the same time Garfoot first went for a serious bike ride.
“He [husband Chris] went mountain biking and I felt left out so he took me along and I kind of enjoyed it because naturally I could just keep up with the boys and soon I would just ride away from them,” Garfoot said.
“I’m very excited and I had tears running down my eyes before because it means a lot, first Commonwealth Games doing that for Australia.
“I was just hoping, I was dreaming of a medal but I was just hoping to be somewhere top 10."
She said it made all the hard work worthwhile. The pain of a time trial is not Garfoot's favourite thing, so she wrote on her handlebars: “It’s worth tolerating, it’s bearable’.”
Garfoot’s Australian teammate Shara Gillow finished sixth in 43:33.70 while retiring England rider Emma Pooley claimed silver in her last competitive international time trial.
Pooley had led throughout, before Villumsen produced a stunning final sector.
