→←Athletes→Kristina Clonan
Kristina Clonan
- Age
- 26
- Disciplines
- Track
- Categorisation
- Podium Ready
- Home state
- Queensland
- State institute
- Queensland Academy of Sport
Kristina Clonan has developed into a world-class track sprinter after transitioning from the endurance program during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games cycle.
As a junior, the Sunshine Coast product won the 2015 Junior Oceania Road Race Championships and took bronze in the scratch race at the 2016 Junior Track World Championships.
She continued her endurance trajectory by winning the elite Madison national title in 2018, tasting World Cup success with the Australian team pursuit squad, and winning the under-23 criterium national title ahead of Ruby Roseman-Gannon.
After missing selection for the Tokyo Olympic Games, Clonan reinvented herself by switching to track sprinting.
The results came quickly when the Queenslander won the 2020 elite women’s sprint, keirin and time trial national championships. Proving it was no fluke, Clonan successfully defended all three crowns in 2021.
At TrackNats in 2022, Clonan rode under 33 seconds in a 500m time trial for the first time. Once again, she swept her individual events to retain all three of national championships in the keirin, sprint and 500m time trial. Clonan has now won 10 individual national championships since 2020.
In May of 2022, Clonan broke through internationally with a gold medal in the time trial at the UCI Track Nations Cup in Milton.
She would win gold in that same event at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and break Anna Meares’ Commonwealth Games record in the process.
Clonan won her first world championships medal at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow after racing to silver in the 500m time trial.
She made her Olympic Games debut at Paris 2024, where she bowed out of the keirin in the quarterfinals and the sprint in the 1/8 finals.
Later that year, at the 2024 UCI Track World Championships in Ballerup, Clonan joined with Alessia McCaig and Molly McGill to win bronze in the women's team sprint. It was Australia's first participation in the event since the format changed from two riders to three, and the trio set a new national record of 47.358 in the final.