Anna Meares the hero’s hero among the Australian Commonwealth Games team

ANNA Meares shows her strength to the world in all sorts of ways — sometimes just cooking a plain old barbecue sausage.

GLASGOW COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2014- DAY 1- Anna Meares wins the Women's 500m Time Trial on day 1 of the track cycling at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. Pics Adam Head

ANNA Meares shows her strength to the world in all sorts of ways — sometimes just cooking a plain old barbecue sausage.

Or a few hundred of them.

Meares has been everywhere and everything to Australia’s early Games profile, carrying the flag at the opening ceremony then winning a smart track gold in the 500m time trial about 18 hours later.

But a month ago, there she was, stationed outside Bunnings in Mile End in Adelaide for a full day operating a barbecue for the Little Heroes charity.

At the end of this Games she will shave her head for that charity.

Anna Meares leads the Australian team at the opening ceremony.

Others came and went from the barbecue throughout the day and most left after an hour, feeling little leg-weary or complaining about smelling like one of sausages they were cooking.

But Meares came early, helped set up the tent, whacked on her apron and stayed on her feet the whole day.

When the show was done she took a giant bucket of fat home herself to dispose of it.

Every the coalminer’s daughter, there is no task below her.

Her unpretentious nature has made her the hero’s hero of this squad and beyond.

Take it as read that before you have lunch today Steve Waugh will have watched a replay of Meares winning and told someone in that clipped way that he is “pleased for Anna ... great person ... real professional”.

Anna Meares celebrates her win in the 500m time trial.

Waugh spent time watching athletes of all descriptions during the London Olympics as his role as athlete mentor and Meares was the one who really caught his eye.

Every time he went down to do his washing in the village laundry she seemed to be in the corner on her stationary exercise bike squeezing in a training sessions between training sessions.

For a while in London she was down and battling but just as it seemed her mojo had deserted her, she came roaring back and beat her arch rival Victoria Pendleton for gold.

Meares soaks up the atmosphere at the opening ceremony.

Meares’ gold medal in the sprint was considered a routine victory that did not particularly send the local crowd into cartwheels of emotion.

The crowd reaction to her win was respectful not raucous.

But she is just the type of story cycling needs at a time when many fans are trying to work out whether they like it or not.

The stench left by Lance Armstrong cannot be wiped away overnight and while she is well away from that scene the sport’s standing among the common fan is not what it was.

She is that rare sporting identity who can be a killer on the track and charmer off it.

And she cooks a mean sausage.

Originally published as Anna Meares the hero’s hero among the Australian Commonwealth Games team