Reggie Tucker coached hundreds of cyclists, including star Anna Meares and son Kenrick

A Queensland community is in mourning following the death of legendary cycling coach Reggie Tucker with Olympic champion Anna Meares paying tribute to the man with whom she shared a special bond. SEE THE TRIBUTES

Legendary cycling coach Ken 'Reggie' Tucker has died, prompting a heartfelt tribute from his greatest rider, Anna Meares.

Ken ‘Reggie’ Tucker and Olympic cycling champion Anna Meares shared a bond that transcended that of coach and athlete.

It was a relationship forged through hard work, mutual respect, determination and admiration.

But it was with heartbreak that champion cyclist Anna shared the news of the passing of her highly regarded mentor in a Facebook post on Tuesday night.

“It is with a profoundly heavy heart and deep sadness that I’d like to acknowledge, with permission from the family, the sad passing of Reggie Tucker,” she wrote.

Anna Meares on the track in Rockhampton with local riders and former coach Reggie Tucker.

“On behalf of the little girl you saw something in all those years ago when no one else did, I say ‘Thank you, Mr Tucker’.

“And on behalf of the woman I am today, I say ‘Thank you Reg, I love you. I’ll miss you’. Happily always, your Ugly Duckling’.

Anna continued, sending love to the Tucker family, as well as the greater Rockhampton, Queensland and Australian cycling communities.

Rockhampton Cycling Club president Joe Adair also offered condolences to the Tucker family on their “sad loss”.

“Vale Reggie (Ken) Tucker,” a post on the club’s Facebook page read.

“Many of us will have fond memories of Reggie and his unique style, and each will have their own story.”

A life member of the club, Reggie played a leading role in so many of those stories.

Coach Reggie Tucker always kept a keen eye on the cyclists he trained, including world, Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion Anna Meares.

He had a profound influence on hundreds of cyclists, the most notable being Anna, who is considered the greatest female track cyclist of all time.

He also coached his son Kenrick to two Commonwealth Games, where he won consecutive gold medals in the men’s 1000m match sprint, as well as two Olympics.

Reggie retired after a 50-year coaching career at age 85 in 2021 but he always continued to track the progress of his riders.

Speaking to The Morning Bulletin then, he explained it was his three sons – Kenrick, Russell and Byron – who first got him involved in coaching.

By his own admission, he had no official training as a coach but drew on his own experience as a cyclist and “studied the opposition very, very closely”.

Queensland and Rockhampton cyclist Brooke Tucker celebrates with her father Kenrick Tucker and grandfather Ken 'Reggie' Tucker after winning gold in the under-19 women's sprint at the Track Cycling National championships at Melbourne on the weekend.

It proved to be a winning formula, with his three sons all going on to be Australian champions, as did Kenrick’s daughters Brooke and Lara.

So many of his proteges went on to enjoy success and achieve their goals, something he said at the time made him “so happy and incredibly satisfied”.

But he could not have been prouder of the achievements of Anna, who he coached for more than five years in her early career.

“She’s a great person and we’re still very, very good friends,” he said at the time.

“There will only ever be one Anna Meares.”

And for Anna, it’s clear there will only ever be one Reggie Tucker.