LONDON (AP) — Anna Meares of Australia spoiled the British party at the London Velodrome by winning the Olympic gold medal for women's sprint with a 2-0 victory over rival Victoria Pendleton.

Meares, who lost to the British rider in final four years ago in Beijing, denied Pendleton a third gold medal, which would have made her the most successful British female athlete at the Olympics.

Pendleton has said she will retire after the London Games.

Guo Shuang of China won the bronze medal with a 2-0 win over Kristina Vogel of Germany.

The 31-year-old Pendleton thought she got off to a perfect start in the final after beating Meares by one thousand of second in the first leg. But the defending champion was relegated a few minutes later for coming out of the sprinter lane.

She never looked in contention in the second bout after Meares track standed to force her to go in front. Meares then rounded Pendleton on the outside to close out track cycling's marquee event.

Meares punched the air before crossing the line then shed her visor before joining hands with Pendleton, her best rival over the past decade.

Pendleton, who was relegated in the team sprint before she bounced back with the gold medal in the keirin, was in tears but found some consolation when the capacity crowd started to chant "Vicky! Vicky! Vicky!"

Meares was injured in a crash during the keirin final of a World Cup event in Carson, Calif., in January 2008, sustaining a hairline fracture in her back, tearing some muscles in her neck and dislocating her right shoulder.

Doctors said at the time that the crash could have left her paralyzed. She returned to competition just six months after the accident to win silver in Beijing.

Meares and Pendleton both have multiple world titles and don't like each other. Their bitter rivalry escalated at the 2006 world championships in Bordeaux, France, where the British rider accused her rival of cutting her off in a keirin race.

Pendleton then beat Meares in the Beijing final, but Meares got the upper hand at the 2011 world championships. Pendleton regained the world title in Melbourne, Australia, handing Meares a painful defeat in her backyard.

Meares finished a disappointing fifth in the keirin in London.