Olympic Gold on Tasmanian cyclist Georgia Baker’s mind, late father Patrick in her heart

THE gruelling training in the weeks before the Olympics will be tough, but it will not hurt nearly as much as Georgia Baker’s longing.

THE gruelling training in the weeks before the Olympics will be tough, but it will not hurt nearly as much as Georgia Baker’s longing.

Georgia Baker with her father Patrick.

The 21-year-old Tasman­ian lost her dad last year — who was her support, her ­inspiration and her long-time cycling buddy.

When she was selected for the Olympic team on Tuesday, the thrill of representing her country was mingled with memories of her father.

“Dad would be very, very proud,” she said before ­heading to the final training camp in Los Angeles.

“He knew how much I wanted to go to the Olympics and how hard I was training to get there.

“I can just imagine the smile on his face.”

The young woman from Perth, in the state’s North, draws inspiration from both the memory of her father and the pain of the loss.

Patrick Baker died suddenly aged 44 from a heart ­attack in May last year.

“I could have chosen to hide away,” Georgia said. “But instead I took it as motivation.”

She knows the physical pain of training will not come close to the pain of grief, and she draws on this knowledge to push herself harder.

“It really does drive me when I’m training. I push myself that bit harder knowing I may be hurting — but it’s nothing like the hurt I’ve been through.”

Georgia is training in LA with fellow Tasmanian cyclist Amy Cure, of West Pine. The pair will represent Australia in the women’s team pursuit at next month’s Olympic Games.

Launceston road rider ­Richie Porte has also been ­selected for the Olympics, making a trio of Tasmanian cyclists preparing for Rio — the biggest contribution the state has ever made to an Olympic team.

This will Georgia’s first Games. She has been ­dreaming of representing her country since primary school.

Her parents, Patrick and Dearne Baker, encouraged Georgia in all sports.

“I tried a lot of different sports growing up because my parents wanted me to try a bit of everything,” Georgia said.

Her sporting fate was bolstered by talent identification testing at high school, which showed 14-year-old Georgia had potential in cycling.

“Once I started cycling, I loved it,” she said.

It really does drive me when I’m training. I push myself that bit harder knowing I may be hurting — but it’s nothing like the hurt I’ve been through.

But Georgia said her ­Olympic selection would never have been possible without her dad, who trained right alongside her after school.

“Dad hated me training by myself.”

The teenager would train along the “crunchy old” roads between Perth and Longford, and her father would worry about his daughter out alone with the sun going down.

“He hated me training by myself. I used to go out for a couple of hours after school and it would get a little bit dark. So Dad would join me on a bike.”

Eventually cycling became a family affair — with cousins and uncles joining the pack.

Patrick was not only a strong emotional support for his daughter, but a strong cycling partner. The construction worker was fit and active — from sport and working outdoors. His death came completely out of the blue.

“He was one of the fittest guys I knew,” Georgia said.

“It was a massive shock for everyone who knew him. It was completely unexpected.

“We will never really know why it happened.”

Australia's female track cyclists in the gym at the Adelaide SuperDrome, back, from left, Georgia Baker, Rebecca Wiasak, Bella King, Annette Edmondson, and front, Ashlee Ankudinoff, Melissa Hoskins and Amy Cure. Picture: TAIT SCHMAAL

The death forced Georgia to dig deep and find the courage to keep riding, and she did it for her dad.

Her father died only four days before Georgia was due to leave home to begin ­training with the Australian women’s track endurance squad — first in Adelaide and then Europe.

Her dream of joining the elite echelon of women’s cycling collided abruptly with the shocking personal loss.

She delayed joining the camp for a few weeks, but forced herself to join the team after thinking through what her dad would have wanted.

In July last year, Georgia wrote in a blog that it was time to “chase her dream just like dad would want me to”.

“I know he would be ­saying, ‘Come on George, just get on with it!’

“He knew how much it meant to me. Firstly, I didn’t want to let him down and secondly, deep down I knew it was the right thing to do.”

Georgia trained hard, winning gold in the omnium event at the Oceania championships this year and was part of the fifth-placed women’s pursuit team at the world championships.

Georgia said she could not have gotten through the past year without the support of her family and teammates.

She will be joined in Rio by her grandparents and her mum, who bought the plane tickets well before anyone knew the makeup of the final team.

“Mum knows how hard I’ve worked,” Georgia said.

“Everyone is really proud.”

Originally published as Olympic Gold on Tasmanian cyclist Georgia Baker’s mind, late father Patrick in her heart