Madison Janssen (born 13 November 1994) is an Australian cyclist. She is a world champion, multiple national champion and a world record holder. In May 2016 she was named as part of the Australian cycling team as the sighted pilot for Jessica Gallagher for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, where they won a bronze medal in the Women's 1000m time trial.
Madison Janssen was born in Queensland on 13 November 1994, the youngest of three children. She began BMX riding when she was five years old, after seeing her father and brother playing around on bicycles.[1]
Janssen decided to switch to track cycling.[1] On 18 May 2015, she received a call from Glenn Doney, the head coach at the Victorian Institute of Sport, who informed her that the visually impaired Paralympic athlete and skier Jessica Gallagher intended to qualify for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro as a track cyclist, and needed a tandem bicycle pilot.[6][7] Janssen later recalled her first ride with Gallagher:
I've only ridden a boarded track three times. I was a little nervous, then having to go on it on the tandem, made me even more nervous, then putting Jess on the back – even more terrifying – THEN Glenn decided our first effort would be a flying 200m, let's just say I was on a whole new level of scared, this was probably the most scariest thing I had ever done.[7]
Janssen (left) and Jessica Gallagher (right) are all smiles after winning a bronze medal in the Women's B/VI 1000m time trial final
At the national championships in Adelaide in December 2015, they won the women's 1km tandem event in a time of 1:09.597, inside the 1:10 qualifying time for the world championships.[6] The next step was the 2016 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari in Italy in March 2016. In the women's tandem 1km time trial they posted a time of 1:07.575, which was good enough to win bronze.[8] The following day they beat British defending world champions Sophie Thornhill and Helen Scott in the flying 200m event in a world record time of 11.045 seconds, breaking the record of 11.112 seconds set by Brandie O'Connor and Breanna Hargrave in April 2014.[9] Their selection for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro was announced on 30 May 2016.[10] On 9 September they won a bronze medal in the Women's 1000m time trial.[11]
On 5 March 2017, Janssen came second in the Keirin at the 2017 Australian Track Championships.[12]
