By Justin Flynn
Ocean Grove cyclist Tamaryn Stevens won the gold medal in the 30km road at the World Transplant Games in Malaga, Spain.
The 25-year-old recorded a personal best time of 55 minutes 12 seconds for the road race and also won a silver medal in the 5km time trial.
Tamaryn had a kidney transplant from her mother Amy 12 years ago after being diagnosed with focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, a disease that attacks the kidneys.
Despite achieving a personal best time, Tamaryn just missed on a gold medal in the 5km time trial by just 0.3 seconds with a time of seven minutes 32 seconds, but then managed gold in the road race.
“I think I came over the line and was still thinking about the race for a split second, like still calculating where everyone was and where I should be and then I came out of that mindset and realised I’d done it,” Tamaryn told the Voice from Malaga.
“I was really happy because it was everything I’d been working toward and was something I’d been wanting to achieve for so long. I think I got a bit of a fist pump and let out a ‘yes!’ while still on the bike.”
Tamaryn celebrated her gold medal with family, team-mates and friends with “lots of hugging and handshaking and later, ice cream”.
Tamaryn’s rapid rise in the sport has come through plenty of dedication.
“I came up against competitors who were miles ahead of me two years ago,” she said.
“It’s a great feeling to see the improvement and to feel like I’ve been working hard and gotten so far.”
