Kelsey Mitchell returning from winter games ‘hungrier than ever’ to get back on the bike

Local Olympian Kelsey Mitchell is recovering after her third Olympic games, which was also her first winter games.

Sherwood Park’s Kelsey Mitchell, now a three-time Olympian and one of few athletes to compete in both the winter and summer games, is returning from Cortina tired but proud and focused.

Mitchell joined the Canadian women’s bobsledding team in January, just six months after beginning training in the sport.

Already being a high-performance athlete – she earned an Olympic gold medal in 2020 in cycling – made going from zero bobsleigh experience to Olympic material possible, but certainly not easy.

“I really didn’t know much about the sport. I knew you push hard, and then you get in and hold on. There was so much that went on outside of it,” she remembers learning.

However, she also got a late start to cycling, starting the sport at 23 years old.

“What made me so successful with cycling is I was so dialled in and I would train very hard. But then I also really focused on my recovery…. It was the same thing with bobsled being a short amount of time to get good, but we didn’t really have time to recover,” Mitchell told CTV News Edmonton in an interview on Friday, recalling months of practice around Europe.

She ended up serving as brakewoman to pilot Melissa Lotholz in Italy, realizing a dream she once had as a 21-year-old.

The duo placed 13th in the two-woman bobsleigh.

“We had one bad run and it threw us out of the mix, so (it was) tough to swallow that, but we both gave it our best. So (we’re) coming back with our head held high,” Mitchell said.

Despite the result, the 32-year-old said it was the most fun she’s ever had bobsledding because there were fewer expectations given her new arrival in the sport.

Her family also went to Italy to support her, which they had been able to do for the 2024 summer games in Paris but not the 2020 games in Tokyo. And unlike either of her previous games, Mitchell got a true Olympic village experience, staying three weeks for both the opening and closing ceremonies in Italy, as well as other events.

“(Cortina) was the most beautiful place I’ve ever stayed. And the whole town was so excited about the Olympics,” Mitchell said.

What’s next?

Mitchell is now taking a month off to let her body recover from the last six months, but described herself as eager to get back to her other sport.

She said she needed a break from the bike and had been feeling burnt out from literally going in circles.

“Now, I’m hungrier than ever for it,” she said.

“My heart and soul is ready to go back to cycling and just see if I can get back on the team, back to the Olympics and hopefully back on top.”

When she returns, she will be training at Edmonton’s new velodrome.

“I keep joking around with people. I’m like, ‘I’ve always wanted to try rowing.’ And they’re like, ‘No!’”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg