NZ Cyclist Botha Ready to Defend Gold at Longer Distance

Four years after setting a Commonwealth Games record, New Zealand cyclist Bryony Botha is heading back to Glasgow with a new challenge and a completely different mindset.

The 2022 gold medalist will defend her individual pursuit title, but organizers have added four extra laps to match the men's distance. Instead of racing 3000 meters, Botha and her competitors will now cover 4000 meters around the velodrome.

"I honestly haven't done very many, I've probably done about two or three, so I think I'm still trying to figure it out," Botha admits. She briefly held the world record at the new distance in February 2025 before another rider broke it just two days later.

The longer race requires a different strategy. Botha naturally prefers starting steady and maintaining her pace, but her coach wants her to go hard early and hold on through the pain at the end.

In 2022, Botha dominated so thoroughly that she nearly caught her opponent, who started on the opposite side of the track 125 meters away. The crowd roared as she saw a flash of yellow ahead and realized she was about to lap her competitor while smashing the Games record by almost six seconds.

But perhaps the bigger transformation has happened off the bike. After many teammates retired following the Tokyo Olympics, Botha suddenly found herself in a leadership role she never expected.

"I used to be the one who would sit in the background, just listen and not really give my opinion," she explains. "But that really changed for me. I'm definitely a lot more confident in myself as a rider and also just being a bit more of a leader in the team."

Why This Inspires

Botha's journey shows that champions aren't just born, they grow. She spent the last month and a half racing criteriums in scorching US heat with Fearless Femme Racing, winning the overall title at the 11-day Tour of America's Dairyland and finishing top five every single day.

Her team director believed in her before she believed in herself. When she found herself wearing the leader's jersey on day five, she realized she had to "change my thinking and believe in myself a bit more and actually try and do it."

Now she's bringing that confidence back to the track, where she'll team up with Ally Wollaston, Prudence Fowler, Emily Shearman and Samantha Donnelly for the team pursuit. "We honestly have so much fun, we are just laughing all the time," Botha says about her squad.

The Commonwealth Games start in late July, and Botha is ready to prove that growth, both as an athlete and a leader, matters just as much as natural talent.