Elizabeth Taylor (Tadich)

Sports Hall of Fame Inductee

A Shepparton girl who attended Bouchier Street Primary school and Goulburn Valley Grammar School joined the Shepparton cycle club when she was thirteen years of age and would eventually find herself on the world stage of women’s cycling. Liz Tadich loved to ride the track at the Shepparton Velodrome. She joined the cycle club and showed she had a great amount of ability by winning club events and regional races. It wasn’t long before she was selected in the Victorian Junior track team. Liz showed that she could match it with the best as a track rider. However cycling leaders convinced her that she had the stamina to ride in road races. Therefore Liz switched to road racing.

The switch worked and she was recruited by the Institute of sport to train with the Australian squad and travelled in the Australian team to compete in the World Junior championships in Equadore. The experience was wonderful for Liz and she returned to Australia determined to continue in the sport. She trained tirelessly to ensure she entered senior ranks in top form and was a part of the Australian team for the senior world titles in Columbia in 1995. Liz had arrived as a world class cyclist and won the Australian women’s road title the same year.

In 1997 Liz returned to the world cycling championships in San Sebastian Spain and in a blanket finish rode into second place in the women’s road race. She became the first Australian cyclist to be on the podium to receive a medal at the World Championships.

Throughout her career Liz competed successfully in road races around Australia and overseas. She added to her first Australian title in 1995 by riding into third place in 1998 and 2^nd place in the 2001 championships. She was able to represent her country as a road rider in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and in Manchester in 2002.

Unfortunately Liz was injured when a car collided with her during training at the time she was preparing for Olympic Games selection. The accident robbed her of a chance to go to the Olympics.

Liz Tadich had come a long way since she commenced her cycling on the Shepparton Velodrome and she showed how girls from country Victoria who dedicate themselves to achieve, can appear on the world cycling stage. She will now be honoured by the city she grew up in as a member of the Hall of Fame.