Dickson sets Irish record
Thatcham cyclist Aimee Dickson set a new Irish national record for the flying 200 metres for junior women.
She was competing at the Black Line Open last month – the event was part of British Cycling’s annual series of events for elite sprinters.
It took place at the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport.
Dickson finished 10th on the day, in a field which included riders who had competed in August’s Commonwealth Games.
The flying 200 metres isn’t an event in itself.
It’s used for qualifying and seeding before a sprint competition, to decide who races who in the head-to-head rounds.
It doesn’t factor directly into the overall result on the day, but it’s a good measure of pure power across a cohort and over time.
This was Dickson’s first event competing under Irish registration.
She has held an Irish passport since birth, through her Irish-born father.
Previously she had been competing under British registration.
Dickson’s time of 12.748 seconds beat the previous official record of 13.165, which had stood since 2015.
The junior age category is for riders in the year of their 17th and 18th birthday, so Dickson has another year to go even faster.
She said:“It’s a really big deal for me, I couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day.
“It’s a stepping stone now, hopefully towards greater things.
“I hope it is just the start of my sporting career.”
Dickson is a pupil in the sixth form at Kennet School, with PE among her chosen A-level subjects.
She started out aged five playing mini rugby at Henwick with Thatcham Rugby Club.
Her father Simon remembers her regularly winning their games of bulldog in training.
“She was obviously fast, but she was patient and strategic about it too,” he said.
“And those are exactly the qualities you need to be a successful track sprinter.”
Dickson moved on to athletics with Team Kennet, the highlight being two golds while representing Berkshire at 2019’s UK Sportshall national finals.
Locally she won the junior races at Newbury’s Bayer 10k in 2016 and 2017.
In July 2019, Dickson switched her focus to cycling, joining the Palmer Park Velo club based at the outdoor track in Reading.
Showing signs of promise as a sprinter, she was nominated by the club’s coaches for British Cycling’s talent development scheme.
But her sporting allegiance always leaned towards Ireland.
“Our family would always take an Irish flag to events and cheer on the Irish competitors,” she said.
“We even have Irish relatives who compete at an international level.
“Sportingwise, I always felt more Irish.”
So after recognising she had more opportunities with Cycling Ireland, it was an easy decision to switch her sporting registration to Ireland, with immediate results.
She said: “I knew I was close to the record.
“It was only a fraction of a second away and deep down I felt I could do it.
“I had ridden the Newport track a few times over the summer, so I was comfortable riding it and knew exactly what to do.
“I have one more major event left in the season, then we start thinking towards next year.
“I have an intense winter ahead of me, a lot of gym work to build up my strength.
“Then, the target will be the junior national championships in the early summer.
“And if that goes well, who knows?”
