Teenager Taylah Jennings shines at debut track championships

ANNA Meares instantly shuts down any comparisons between her and five-time junior world champion Taylah Jennings.

Anna Meares

ANNA Meares can sense the looming comparisons between her and five-time junior world champion Taylah Jennings and instantly shuts them down.

"I won't compare her to me because that's not fair," the Olympic champion said.

Even so, there are undeniable similarities between the track sprinters, who were both born and raised in central Queensland and share the same mentor, Ken "Reggie" Tucker.

Tucker also snips the line which is being drawn between Meares and Jennings, who charged on to the podium in her Cycling Australia Track National Championships senior debut in Sydney.

"Same coach but that's it," Tucker said. "To compare them would be unfair. We'll see how she develops. If there's one thing she and Anna have in common it's an ability to rise."

Jennings has graduated into the senior ranks after two seasons in the under-19 category. It was a period of international dominance that netted her consecutive Australian National Championships' Champion of Champions awards and five junior world titles in the endurance events.

Meares, who has recently returned to training after an extended post-Olympic break, shared a stage with Jennings when the 18-year-old won the Queensland Junior and Elite Cyclist of the Year awards in December. That the field included world champion Michael Hepburn illustrates her huge potential.

Jennings moved from Rockhampton to Adelaide in November and Meares sees a shy, starstruck teenager with an enormous future.

"We're from the same stable which means she's well drilled on technique and has built a really good foundation," Meares said.

Jennings and Deanna Bax yesterday won bronze in the team sprint behind South Australian pair Rikki Belder and Stephanie Morton, with NSW's Kaarle McCulloch and Stefanie Fernandez-Preiska claiming silver. The individual sprint and the keirin are her remaining opportunities at the nationals.