Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 9:50 PM

Australia's Anna Meares has finished with the silver medal in the women's sprint at the Beijing Olympics.

Meares was no match for Great Britain's Victoria Pendleton in the final, going down 2-0.

Her silver medal is one better than her third place in the sprint in 2004, and is Australia's only cycling track medal of the Games.

Her feat means Australia has avoided equalling an unwanted national record.

The last time Australia went home without a track cycling medal from the Games was at Moscow in 1980.

The Aussies were the kings of the velodrome in 2004, topping the table with five gold and nine in total, but since then have been playing catch-up to the dominant British team.

Meares's feat in making the final comes only seven months after she returned home from a World Cup race in a wheelchair following a crash which almost left her permanently paralysed.

As well as winning sprint bronze in Athens, she is also the champion in the now defunct Olympic event of the 500 metre time trial.

The 27-year-old Pendleton is the first British woman to win Olympic gold in track cycling's blue riband event.

Pendleton competed in Athens, where she came away with a ninth place in the sprint and a sixth place in the time trial, won by Meares.

Guo Shuang picked up the bronze, China's first track cycling medal of the Games, and just the second in Olympic history, following Jiang Yonghua's silver medal from the women's 500m time trial in Athens.

Guo had battled Meares for a place in the final and beat the Australian 2-1.

However Guo was disqualified by the race jury for entering Meares's lane as they rounded the final bend in the decider.

She went on to win bronze by dominating Willy Kanis of the Netherlands over two legs.