Anna Morris did not own a road bike until she was almost 20 and had not so much as set foot in a velodrome.
Only three years ago, she watched the Tokyo Olympics from the hospital where she was working.
Now the qualified doctor is a three-time world champion and Olympic medallist.
At last week’s World Track Championships in Denmark, the 29-year-old from Cardiff helped add another team pursuit gold to the team’s title from 2023, before winning a sensational individual pursuit gold that even she did not expect.
Remarkably, it was her first individual pursuit title since winning the university championship title five years ago.
“I haven’t even won Nationals,” she tells BBC Sport Wales.
“I was in shock when I crossed the line and I’m still feeling a bit shocked now.”
Morris grew up in north Cardiff, just minutes from the iconic outdoor Maindy Velodrome which helped launch the cycling careers of the likes of Geraint Thomas, Elinor Barker and Luke Rowe.
But it was gymnastics that attracted Morris growing up. She would train for up to three hours after school.
As a younger child, her cycling efforts peaked at tackling the little hill on the way to the supermarket – though her determination to do so without stopping hinted at a drive she displays in abundance on the track now.
While studying medicine at the University of Southampton, she would do spin classes to keep fit. That was until, in her second year, she got a chance to do some track sessions at Calshot Velodrome.
“The first ride [in the individual pursuit] went a whole lot better than I expected. That definitely gave me more confidence going into the second ride. But I still definitely didn’t think a win was on the cards, because Chloe Dygert is just phenomenal.
“But I knew that, no matter what, I was going to go and ride as hard as I could to that line.”
It was enough to take the win by just over three-tenths of a second.
Afterwards, Sir Chris Hoy hailed Morris’ aerodynamic body shape on the bike as “textbook”.
It is an area the Welshwoman has been focusing on for years, but Morris believes there is no secret to her success beyond training hard and consistently.
There are crossovers with her medical career, not just in relation to knowledge of her body’s physiology and nutrition needs, but when it comes to working in a team and performing well under pressure.
The medical career is something Morris fully intends to resume – but not just yet.
“There are no guarantees in sport,” Morris says. “But at the moment the opportunities are still there. So I’m keen to keep exploring.”
