Now a Performance Pathways Strategic Consultant for HPSNZ, Alison is the ninth and final Olympian and Paralympian in our feature series heading towards the start of Paris 2024.
HPSNZ
Tell us about your Olympic experiences.
Alison
The two Games experiences were very different for a number of reasons. Obviously as a first time Olympian in Beijing I was wide eyed and found the experience simply amazing. I was one of only two female cyclists in the New Zealand team, compared with four years later in London where we had a whole team which reflected the growth in the sport.
Between the two Olympic Games my event was taken off the programme which meant I had to take learnings and adapt to a Team Pursuit. We had just three years to find teammates and build from scratch.
My Olympic journey was cool for me and also for what it represented in terms of the growth in women’s cycling.
HPSNZ
Of all the experiences, what was the most memorable one?
Alison
When I think of my Olympic experiences I always go to Beijing because it was my first. Walking through the Athletes’ Village and hearing Josh Groban’s song “You raise me up” blasting out of speakers in the garden still gives me goose bumps.
London does have a lot of special memories, most particularly because my parents were there.
Alison Shanks, Beijing 2008
HPSNZ
Given what you know now, what, if anything, would you have done differently in your Olympic campaign?
Alison
Probably the main thing would be to have more self-belief. In Beijing I was ranked ninth going into the competition and made it through to the second round. I had the opportunity to race for the bronze medal the next day but I hadn’t planned for that and overnight I felt that I didn’t belong there. What I took from that was the importance of having confidence and that anything can happen.
HPSNZ
How different do you think the Olympic experience is today from when you competed?
Alison
While the essence of a pinnacle event like the Olympics hasn’t changed, there are a lot of things that have.
The structures like the satellite villages are different where some athletes don’t experience the buzz of a big Olympic village. But I’m a believer the Games must also evolve to be more feasible and sustainable.
Social media is a huge change which places greater expectations on athletes to show more of themselves, to be more than a competitor. In Beijing I didn’t go on social media for two weeks and stayed in my bubble. That probably is not doable now. It’s a lot of noise but really it is still about athletes being the best they can be on a given day.
HPSNZ
How does your experience as an Olympic athlete contribute and help you in your current role with HPSNZ?
Alison
When I retired I was elected to the Cycling NZ board and served on the NZOC Athletes Commission and Commonwealth Athletes Advisory. I was then appointed to HPSNZ’s board for six years, and now I’m in a consulting role, part of the Performance Pathways team, helping to implement the then 10 year 2032 New Zealand High Performance System Strategy that was born during my time as a Director.
Through my experiences I can say I truly lived it, felt it, sat on the start line. I’ve lived in an Olympic village, done the training and the buildup journey, and experienced the emotions that go with all that.
In my current consulting role we focus on the athlete journey and my experiences bring a lived perspective to the discussion.
Prior to my career as a cyclist I experienced team sport through netball and basketball where I competed in the national leagues for Otago. The experiences were different but the emotions the same. There are seven medal-winning behaviours we have learned our medallists exhibit, for example we know tight teams perform well. My work is how we use those insights and help our pathway athletes to develop and create those performance environments for them to thrive.
It’s been awesome to see the Prime Minister’s Scholarship internship programme delivering for our athletes, something that was seeded during my time on the board. The notion of our New Zealand system being able to nurture a sport and life journey is something I’m really passionate about.
HPSNZ
If you were to give a current Olympic or Paralympic athlete one piece of advice for their Paris 2024 campaign, what would it be?
Alison
Control the controllables. That was my way of dealing with the challenges. I also made my bubble as small as possible before competing. This meant really knowing who my tight team was, who I interacted with in the dorm, the dining room, on the bus and on the track. I really believe that ‘small’ makes it easier to control the controllables.
