On Yer Bike! Olympian Alison's Next Venture

The Athlete Has the Answer to Kids Getting Physical.

- Amy Prebble

Former Olympic cyclist Alison Shanks is sitting in her gorgeous Waikato home, chatting to the Weekly about her next project, which she hopes will help get Kiwi kids up off the couch, when her son Lucas barrels into her legs.

“Mum, you’re so beautiful!” he yells.

“Oh, thanks, Lucas,” she says, smiling as the make-up artist deftly applies her blusher.

All going well, little Lucas (4) and his sister Abigail (1) will be part of the business venture Alison’s talking so animatedly about. She and husband Craig Palmer have bought the development rights for My First Gym in New Zealand. The idea is parents pay a weekly membership fee, much like an adult gym, and kids can take part in up to three classes a week, with unlimited free play.

“It’s the perfect business to be able to take your kids to work, isn’t it?” she laughs.