Siena makes a big start on global goals
SHE may be only seven years old but Cairns Cycling Club’s Siena Goulding isn’t letting her age get in the way of her big ambitions.
“We sat down to set some goals late last year and she explained that she wanted to be the world champion,” said Goulding’s father, Clinton.
“She has it in her mind that that’s what she wants to do and that’s where she wants to head – I wish I had that kind of ambition at that age.”
The pint-sized pedaller and her fledgling cycling career got a major boost at the weekend, following a successful campaign at the Junior State Track Cycling Championships in Brisbane.
Goulding became the Cycling Queensland junior state record holder for the 500m time trial in the under-9s division and was awarded the gold medal for the flying 200m, where she narrowly missed out on her second state record by a mere five-hundredths of a second.
She also picked up a bronze medal in the 1km scratch race.
It was Goulding’s first time racing on the banked track at Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome.
“She’s only seven so I’m not sure she fully understands what it all really means,” said Clinton.
“But she’s quite humble in her whole approach to (racing).
“From the first time she got on a bike, she just absolutely loved riding and just projected herself into it from there,” he said.
“Hopefully she’ll become a bit of an influencer and encourage more local kids to get into the sport of cycling.”