Sarah Elizabeth Ulmer (born 14 March 1976) is a New Zealand former competitive cyclist. She is the first New Zealander to win an Olympic cycling gold medal, which she won in the 3km individual pursuit at the 2004 Athens Olympics setting a world record.
After the 2004 Olympics, she held the Olympic, Commonwealth and World Championship Pursuit titles, and the records for those events.
Biography
Ulmer was born in Auckland, where she studied at the Diocesan School for Girls.
Her grandfather Ron Ulmer was a track cyclist for New Zealand at the 1938 British Empire Games.
Her father Gary was a national road and track champion.
Individual pursuit races
In 1994, she won the World Junior Championship and placed second at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada with a time of 3 minutes 51 seconds.
At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, she was seventh after qualifying 6th with 3m 43s.
At the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, she won the gold medal with 3m 41.7s.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she qualified 4th with 3m 36.8s and came 4th after losing the ride off for third by 0.08 of a second.
In May 2004, she won the World Championship in Melbourne and set a world record of 3m 30.6s in qualifying.
At the Athens 2004 Olympics she broke the world record in qualifying with 3m 26.4s and took almost two seconds off that time to win the gold in the final with 3m 24.5s. Ulmer reduced the world record by six seconds.
The silver and bronze medalists, Katie Mactier from Australia and Leontien Ziljaard-van Moorsel from the Netherlands, also went under the previous world record (3m 30.6s) in each of their three rides. They rode faster with each ride and rode 3m 27.6s and 3m 27.0s respectively in the finals.
In May 2010 at Aguascalientes, Mexico at an altitude of , American Sarah Hammer broke Ulmer's world record with a time of 3m 22.269s. As of September 2014 nine current world cycling records for distances of 4 km or less have been set at Aguascalientes.
The current world championship record of 3m 27.268s was set by fellow New Zealander, Alison Shanks in Melbourne in 2012.
Other races
Ulmer did well in points races, winning a junior world championship and placing 3rd and 4th at senior world championships. She placed 2nd and 5th (twice) at Commonwealth Games.
After the 2004 Olympics she switched to road racing. The Cycling Archives website includes results for her competing in road races in the US, France, Australia, Belgium and Germany from 1999 to 2006.
Other information
Ulmer trained at the velodrome in Te Awamutu. Her home town is Cambridge. Ulmer has two daughters.
Ulmer announced her retirement from cycling on 24 November 2007. She attended the 2008 Olympics as a mentor.
In 2011, Ulmer signed up as an 'ambassador' for the New Zealand Cycle Trail.
Palmarès
Source:
All pursuits are 3 km individual, apart from two 2 km junior pursuits.
;1993
:2nd File:Silver medal icon.svg Pursuit World Junior Championships (2km)
;1994
:1st 20px Pursuit World Junior Championships (2km)
:1st 20px Points Race World Junior Championships
:2nd File:Silver medal icon.svg Pursuit Commonwealth Games
:5th Points Race Commonwealth Games
;1995
:1st Pursuit, National Championships
:2nd Points Race, National Championships
:3rd Sprint, National Championships
:2nd Pursuit, Australia National Championships
:1st Pursuit, Adelaide World Cup
:3rd Points Race, Adelaide World Cup
:1st Pursuit, Quito World Cup
:1st Pursuit, Tokyo World Cup
;1996
:1st Pursuit, National Championships
:2nd Points Race, National Championships
:7th Pursuit Atlanta Olympics
;1998
:1st File:Gold medal icon.svg Pursuit Commonwealth Games
:2nd File:Silver medal icon.svg Points Race Commonwealth Games
:2nd Pursuit, National Championships
:1st Points Race, National Championships
;1999
:3rd File:Bronze medal icon.svg Points Race World Championships
:6th Pursuit, World Championships
:2nd Pursuit, Texas World Cup
:2nd Pursuit, Cali World Cup
;2000
:4th Pursuit Sydney Olympics
:8th Points Race Sydney Olympics
:1st Pursuit, Cali World Cup
:2nd Pursuit, Turin World Cup
;2001
:1st Pursuit, Mexico City World Cup
:1st 20px National Criterium Championships
:1st Stage 8 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
:1st Stage 8 Tour de Snowy
;2002
:1st Pursuit National Championships
:1st Points Race National Championships
:1st 20px National Criterium Championships
:1st Pursuit, Sydney World Cup
:1st Scratch Race, Sydney World Cup
:3rd Points Race, Sydney World Cup
:1st File:Gold medal icon.svg Pursuit Commonwealth Games
;2003
:4th Pursuit World Championships
:1st Pursuit, Mexico World Cup
:1st Pursuit, Sydney World Cup
:3rd Points Race, Sydney World Cup
:3rd Scratch Race, Sydney World Cup
:1st Pursuit, National Championships
:1st Points Race, National Championships
:3rd 500m Time Trial, National Championships
;2004
:1st 20px Pursuit World Championships
::1st Stage 1 & 4
:1st World Cup Road Race Wellington
: 6th Overall Geelong Tour
;2007
:3rd National Road Race Championships
Photo gallery
<gallery>
File:Ulmer0106_365.jpg|2001 Women's Challenge circuit race
File:Ulmer0206_177.jpg|2002 Women's Challenge – time trial
File:Ulmer0206 393.jpg|2002 Women's Challenge – stage 7
</gallery>