SUTHERLAND Shire world track cycling champion Kaarle McCulloch proved the senior star of the national track sprint titles in Adelaide with a haul of four gold medals, including two Australian championship records.
On the last day of a heavy week of racing and training, McCulloch, 22 of Gymea Bay, set a 500-metre time trial championship record and personal best time with a scintillating 34.208 seconds to clip three tenths of a second off the previous mark set by fellow world champ
Anna Meares.
With Meares absent, McCulloch, a St George Cycling Club champion, cleaned up by also winning the open women's sprint, keirin and team sprint titles to top her haul of three gold at the 2008 national championships.
``My legs were tired after training and having seven days straight on the track, so to do a personal best and a championship record is very satisfying,'' said McCulloch who returned last week from Beijing where she competed in the final round of the World Cup series.
``I was a bit surprised actually.''
Earlier, she set a new championship record in the women's sprint qualifying with 11.383 seconds for the flying 200 metres, beating the mark set by Anna Meares in 2007 of 11.390. McCulloch and Meares are the reigning world champions in the women's team sprint.
She then claimed her second Australian sprint crown with a convincing win over team mate Cassandra Kell in straight heats.
St George Cycling Club's other female star, Ashlee Ankudinoff, added the national omnium title to her world junior title and bronze medal in the team pursuit at the World Championships last year.
She first won a silver in the 3000 metre pursuit behind Sarah Kent last week before dominating the omnium on Sunday.
She won the 200 metre, 500 metre and two kilometre pursuit, finished second in the five kilometre scratch race and sixth in the 10 kilometre points race, which was enough to win gold ahead of world champion Josephine Tomic.