Canadian Olympic gold medalist Kelsey Mitchell of Brandon, Manitoba won the silver medal in the women’s Keirin in UCI Track Champions League action in Mallorca, Spain on Saturday. For Mitchell, who won the gold medal in the women’s sprint at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, it was her sixth career medal in the history of the UCI Track Champions League, as she won five medals last year.
Mitchell posted a final time in the women’s Keirin of 11.529 seconds. Martha Bayona of Colombia won the gold medal with a time of 11.511 seconds. Lea Sophie Friedrich of Germany won the bronze medal with a time of 11.634 seconds. Mitchell reached the podium by 0.22 seconds as Shanne Braspennicx of the Netherlands was in fourth place with a time of 11.749 seconds.
Five times last year Mitchell won a medal in 2021 UCI Track Champions League action. She won the gold medal in the women’s Keirin race in Mallorca, silver medals in the women’s Keirin and women’s sprint races in London, and bronze medals in the women’s sprint in Mallorca, and women’s Keirin in Panevezys, Colombia. Mitchell finished third overall in the UCI Track Champions League standings with 102 points (behind Emma Hinze of Germany with 128 points and Friedrich with 118 points).
Mitchell won one of two medals by Canadian cyclists in Spain on the weekend. In the men’s elimination race, Mathias Guillemette of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec won the gold medal. However, it should be noted the elimination race itself is not part of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
