In the wake of a new velodrome being constructed in her local area, Olympic track cycling champion Kelsey Mitchell found herself drawn back to the sport. Following her participation for Canada in bobsled at the Milan Cortina Games in February, the 32-year-old athlete from Sherwood Park, Alberta, has returned to cycling on the new Alberta Velodrome in Edmonton. This cycling track, part of the recently opened $153-million Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre, commenced operations in January. It stands as one of three 250-meter indoor UCI-sanctioned tracks in Canada, with similar facilities existing in Milton, Ontario, which serves as the national team’s training hub, and at the Centre National De Cyclisme in Bromont, Quebec, completed in 2022.
Mitchell, who clinched the women’s Olympic sprint gold in Tokyo in 2021 despite initially lacking a bicycle when she was introduced to the sport through RBC Training Ground four years prior, experienced a period of burnout after finishing eighth in Paris in 2024. Seeking to explore new avenues within high-performance athletics, she experimented with speedskating before discovering a stronger alignment of her leg power with bobsleigh pushing alongside pilot Melissa Lotholz from Barrhead, Alberta, resulting in a 13th-place finish in the women’s bobsled event in Cortina, Italy.
Upon her return to track cycling, Mitchell desired a more harmonious balance and a change of environment, which she believes the Edmonton velodrome offers. She expressed gratitude for the proximity of the hardwood track, where she trains three days a week, located just 30 minutes from her residence in Sherwood Park, allowing her to maintain close ties with her family and friends after being away for seven years.
In her pursuit to regain peak form, Mitchell underwent a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in April to address a persistent power deficiency in her left leg. To secure a spot on the Canadian team, she aims to meet the national standard time, with plans to attempt qualification on August 31. Reflecting on her training progress, Mitchell acknowledged the rapid resurgence of her skills on the track, emphasizing her current independent status while striving to rejoin the national team and set her sights on future competitions, including the prospect of participating in the Los Angeles Games in 2028, which would mark her fourth Olympic appearance in seven years.
Notably, Mitchell is part of a select group of 14 Canadian athletes who have competed in both Winter and Summer Olympic Games, with five of them, including herself, originating from bobsleigh backgrounds. The integration of the Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre with the pre-existing Peter Hemingway Aquatic Centre contributes to its appeal, with Mitchell appreciating the facility’s capacity to cater to diverse athlete profiles, from elite competitors to recreational enthusiasts. She lauded the venue’s location in Alberta and its altitude advantage for fostering a conducive training environment and engaging the public in the sport of track cycling, underscoring the positive trajectory of sports development in Canada as evidenced by the growing infrastructure supporting cycling disciplines nationwide.
