Cycling BC congratulates all the athletes, coaches, and associated delegates who represented Canada at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. It was a captivating 16 days of competition and there were some exceptional performances put on by our athletes in Tokyo.
Getting to the Olympics takes years of hard work, sacrifice, and commitment. In the case of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, add an extra year due to COVID, as the 2020 Games were the first in history to be postponed and the first to have spectators banned from watching the events live from the stands. No matter the results, it was exciting to watch our Canadian and BC athletes perform on the world’s biggest stage as we cheered loud and proud from home.
A special shoutout to our cyclists from BC who put it all out there including current BC transplants from other provinces, Alison Jackson (Alberta) who finished 32nd in the Women’s Road Race and Peter Disera (Ontario) who finished 26th in Men’s Cross-country Mountain Bike. Legendary mountain biker Catharine Pendrel (Kamloops) put on the Canadian Olympic team jersey for the fourth and final time and finished 18th in the Women’s Cross-country Mountain Bike race. We can’t thank Catharine enough for all the glorious Olympic moments she has given us over the years including a bronze medal win in Rio in 2016.
James Palmer (North Vancouver) didn’t get past the quarter-finals in Men’s BMX racing but we’re very proud of and recognize all the hard work it took to get there. Drew Mechielsen (Langley) who qualified to race in the Women’s BMX final crossed the finish line in 8th. Upon arriving back home in Canada and still experiencing some discomfort in her foot which she didn’t think much of before, during, or after the games, Drew would discover that she was racing with a broken bone in her foot!
On the track, the Women’s Team Pursuit squad including BC riders, Georgia Simmerling (West Vancouver) and Jasmin Duehring (Coquitlam) set a new Canadian record during their round one match vs France. They would eventually finish just short of the podium in 4th place (video below). Jay Lamoureux (Victoria) and the Men’s Team Pursuit team put on a historic performance by setting a new national record and finishing 5th overall, the best result for Canada in the men’s event in 89 years (see 2:30:00 mark of the second video below).
The dazzling performances by our athletes were just some of the many great moments for Canada in Tokyo which also included Mike Woods’ (Ontario) 5th place finish in the Men’s Road Race, Lauriane Genest’s (Quebec) bronze medal in the Women’s Keirin, and Kelsey Mitchell’s (Alberta) gold medal win in the Women’s Sprint to capture Canada’s 24th medal of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
There were just too many memorable moments to name and we salute all the athletes, Cycling Canada, and the Canadian Olympic Committee for helping to make the Tokyo 2020 games safe, memorable, and something all Canadians can be proud of.
Let’s continue supporting our athletes as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are just around the corner (Aug 25th – Sept 5th) and there are 128 Canadian Paralympians, including Cranbrook’s Tristen Chernove, heading to the games for us to cheer on. View the Canadian Paralympic Team List
If you would like to support our BC athletes in their development towards the national team pathway and see them representing Canada at international competitions including World Championships and the Olympics, please consider making a donation to Cycling BC’s Athlete Development Programs.