Canadian track cyclist-turned-bobsledder Kelsey Mitchell in pursuit of her 3rd Olympics

Aside from having unwavering determination, athletic talent and superhuman health, to become an Olympian requires devoting virtually all of one's time to pursuing sport.

For Kelsey Mitchell, an Olympic track cycling champion who made the switch to bobsleigh in the months leading up to the 2026 Winter Olympics, the all-consuming athlete lifestyle seems to be what she knows best.

“I like the process of getting better at something,” Mitchell told CBC Sports.

“It’s given me a lot of perspective. I’m so grateful I've done this and so proud of myself, it’s a long hard season in Europe. It’s a grind sport. You’re moving sleds in the cold … I had to learn some resilience.”

This coming weekend, Canada's bobsleigh team will compete in Altenberg, Germany for its last chance to qualify a sled at the Milano Cortina Olympics beginning Feb. 6.

Mitchell, last weekend, competed in her final race of the IBSF World Cup tour stop in St. Moritz, where she scored her and partner Melissa Lotholz's best 2-woman result of the season.

The 32-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., now awaits the results from Altenberg to see if she and the team will earn a berth to the Games.

“I feel like I‘ve done a lot of work to help the people who are racing,” Mitchell said. “I don’t have control over the outcome, I did everything I could and now I have to sit back and watch.” 

The Canadian Olympic bobsleigh athletes will officially be named on Jan. 19 if the team manages to qualify.

After winning Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021, Mitchell stumbled to eighth in the women's sprint track cycling event at Paris 2024.

If she’s named to the 2026 Olympic team, Mitchell would join a list of noteworthy Canadians who have competed at both the Summer and Winter Games, including road cyclist and speed skater Clara Hughes and championship hockey star Hailey Wickenheiser, who also competed in women’s softball at Sydney in 2000.

“Whatever the outcome, I’ll be okay with [it],” Mitchell said. “Obviously I really want to go and represent Canada, and perform and be at the Winter Olympics, but if it's as an alternate, I’ll be the best alternate I can be and if it’s not going at all, I’ll cheer from afar from the couch.”

It was just over two months ago that Mitchell went down the track for the first time in Whistler, B.C.

“The first run down, I had so much fun. I was smiling the whole way down,” she said. “And then I went down the second and third time … I was hitting my head like crazy, I was so nauseous when I came out … I was honestly questioning everything.”