
Draped in the Canadian flag and pumping her fists in the largely empty Izu Velodrome in August 2021, Kelsey Mitchell basked in the glow of Tokyo Olympic gold.
Three years later, Mitchell finished eighth in her gold medal defense at Paris 2024. Now, she finds herself back at the Olympics again, this time, as a bobsled brakewoman at Milan Cortina 2026 in a sport she only took up in November 2025.