Sprint rider Liliya bound for Chile

Central Coast teenager Liliya Tatarinoff has been selected to race for Australia in the women’s sprint squad at the Track Cycling World Championships to be held in Santiago, Chile, from October 22-26.

The selection follows her success at the 2024 Junior Track Cycling world championships in Luoyang, China, where she came fourth in all three events she raced: Sprint, Keirin and the 500m Time Trial.

“NSWIS pulled the funding for track cycling sprint earlier this year, effectively shutting the door for developing sprinters in NSW,” her father Mark Tatarinoff said.

“This is a sport that Australia is traditionally successful at in international competition, so this decision still makes no sense.

“With no access to an international level coach and former world champion Sean Eadie, as well as access to the Dunc Gray velodrome and all the other sport support mechanisms that NSWIS had supplied, our young sprinters have had to look elsewhere to continue their development.

“Liliya and her life-long sport sister Maya Dillon were eventually accepted by Shane Perkins (former World champ in the Keirin) and the Western Australian Institute of Sport.

“After six weeks of training there, she rode exceptionally well at the Australian sprint team trials camp in Brisbane in August, surprising the coaches – who were cognisant of the upheavals this year has brought.”

Tatarinoff joins 27 other riders in the ARA Australian Cycling Team bound for Chile. 

It is the largest Australian team assembled for a Track Worlds since 2017 and comprises five endurance men, five endurance women, four sprint men and four sprint women.

AusCycling Executive General Manager of Performance, Jesse Korf, said the team represented a great blend of experience and fresh talent – Olympic medallists, seasoned campaigners, athletes on the rise and those making their debut.

“After the intensity of the Olympic year, the World Championships this year are our first real step on the road to LA 2028, and they will also serve as an important marker on the way to next year’s Commonwealth Games,” Korf said.

“It’s an exciting moment to see this group come together and test themselves on the world stage.”

Tatarinoff, 19, earned her debut selection in her first year racing as an elite. 

AusCycling Head Coach of Acceleration and Action, Eric Haakonssen, said the sprint squads “reflects our strategic priorities – building a world-class sprint program capable of contending for medals now while laying the foundation for LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032”. 

“For the women, this balanced squads sees Kristine Perkins returning as a steadying force alongside Alessia McCaig and Molly McGill, with Liliya Tatarinoff earning selection in her first year out of juniors,” he said.

“This mix gives us both immediate podium potential and an eye on fast-tracking the next generation through a clear technical and physical development plan. 

“The excitement is not just about Santiago – it’s about the breakthrough moments and the progression these athletes will carry forward into future campaigns.”