Emerson Harwood - champion cyclist
Posted 10 February 2012
Emerson Harwood, a Surrey Hills resident and Wesley College Glen Waverley campus Year 12 student, is the reigning Under 19 Australian Sprint Cycling Champion.
In January he travelled to Adelaide to compete for the Victorian state team at the Australian National Track Championships. After a flying 200m lap he qualified quickest with a time of 10.595 seconds and an average speed of 67.96km/hr. Competing against 11 other riders from across Australia, he progressed through various stages to win the gold medal.
Emerson took up cycling after being inspired by a family trip to the Tour de France as a 12 year old, and has spent the past 18 months specifically focusing on the sprint discipline.
The 17 year old is combining his cycling with his Year 12 studies and believes that both school and cycling provide a time away from the other. “Although intense, my training schedule is consistent on a week to week basis and allows me to plan my homework around training commitments.”
A typical week for him consists of two track sessions, two gym sessions and two road rides, with one rest day. Emerson belongs to the Blackburn Cycling Club; however he primarily trains with the National Talent Identification Squad and the Victorian Institute of Sport.
Emerson says that he has always enjoyed the competitive nature that cycling brings, and is most proud of his recent achievements at the National Championships. Robbie McEwen is his cycling idol because of his fiery, competitive nature and the role he has played in cycling for Australia and worldwide.
Emerson was recently selected as a member of the Junior Australian National Track Team, and will compete at the Junior World Track Championships in August in Invercargill, New Zealand. After that, he hopes to continue cycling and particularly sprinting, with the aim of riding in the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
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