Kelsey Mitchell came from behind to beat Ellesse Andrews by the narrowest of margins in her 1/8 final. Photo / Photosport
Kelsey Mitchell came from behind to beat Ellesse Andrews by the narrowest of margins in her 1/8 final. Photo / Photosport
Sprint sensation Ellesse Andrews' Olympics have come to an end - but not before she confirmed she has the speed to match the best in the world.
The Kiwi was twice pipped on the line by a combined 0.012 seconds tonight, bowing out of the women's sprint in the 1/8repechage at the Izu Velodrome.
Andrews had already provided ample evidence of her pace on two wheels in Tokyo, claiming a stunning silver medal in the keirin before enjoying a promising first night in the sprint.
But after qualifying 11th fastest and winning two of her three head-to-head races yesterday, Andrews was barely unable to advance beyond the last 12, an outcome that capped an outstanding debut Olympics.
"I'm super happy to finish in the top 12," Andrews told Sky Sport. "Of course I would've loved to have progressed further into the competition, but I left it all out there and emptied the tank. So when you give a performance like that, you can't be disappointed."
That was especially true with such tight margins tonight. But the 21-year-old met her sprint match in Olena Starikova, the Ukrainian who also handed Andrews her sole defeat yesterday.
Starikova extracted further revenge after finishing fourth behind the Kiwi in Thursday's keirin final, showing her experience to perfectly time her run to the line in a three-person repechage.
Andrews looked to have got the better of China's Tianshi Zhong on the last lap but Starikova flew over the top of both opponents to edge Andrews by seven-thousandths of a second.
Unfortunately for the Kiwi, it was a similar story in the first race this evening, as Kelsey Mitchell claimed their 1/8 final to consign Andrews to the sudden-death repechage.
Once again, Andrews showed she had more than enough speed to keep pace with a top senior foe, never being awed by the Canadian world record holder who qualified with the second-fastest time.
Andrews was once more tactically excellent, using the bank well to ride over the top of Mitchell after hearing the bell for the last lap, backing her power to the line.
But Mitchell had just too much speed and stole a victory by five-thousandths of a second, with Andrews at least content in knowing she had done all she could.
"That's my goal going into every race, just to leave it all out there," Andrews said. "I feel like I've done that in the sprints over the last two days."
Kelsey Mitchell came from behind to beat Ellesse Andrews by the narrowest of margins in her 1/8 final. Photo / Photosport
Coping so well with a packed racing schedule will hold Andrews in good stead with Paris looming in 2024, as will her duels with some of the best riders in the world.
The Kiwi was the youngest competitor in the keirin final and the same was true in each of her sprint matchups, but Andrews gave the impression that was just the beginning.
"[I'll have] a little break, enjoy some family time and some friends time, soak it all in, then get back to work," she said. "Riding my bike is what I love to do so that's what I'll be doing."
New Zealand will have one more rider to support on the final day of the Games after late call-up Callum Saunders advanced to the quarter-finals of the men's keirin, having only been confirmed in the days prior that he would be replacing the injured Sam Dakin.
The 25-year-old - also a mid-event addition to the seventh-placed sprint team after Dakin's injury - timed his run in the keirin heats to perfection, getting on the wheel of winner Yuta Wakimoto and earning the top-two place he needed by 0.007s.
