Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's keirin

The women's Keirin event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 4 and 5 August 2021 at the Izu Velodrome.^[1] 29 cyclists from 18 nations competed.^[2]

Women's Keirin at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Olympic track cycling
Venues	Izu Velodrome
Dates	4–5 August 2021
Competitors	29 from 18 nations
Medalists
Shanne Braspennincx  Netherlands Ellesse Andrews  New Zealand Lauriane Genest  Canada
← 2016 2024 →

Background

This will be the 3rd appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics since its introduction in 2012.

The reigning Olympic champion is Elis Ligtlee of the Netherlands. The reigning (2020) World Champion is Emma Hinze of Germany.

Russia, Germany, China, Great Britain, Australia, and the Netherlands are traditionally strong track cycling nations.^[3]

Qualification

Main article: Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 2 qualified cyclists in the women's Keirin. Quota places are allocated to the NOC, which selects the cyclists. Qualification is entirely through the 2018–20 UCI nation rankings. The eight nations that qualify for the team sprint event may enter two cyclists each in the Keirin (as well as the individual sprint). The nations that qualify a cyclist through the individual sprint rankings may also enter that cyclist in the Keirin. Finally, seven places are allocated through the Keirin rankings.^[2] Because qualification was complete by the end of the 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships on 1 March 2020 (the last event that contributed to the 2018–20 rankings), qualification was unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Competition format

Keirin races involve up to seven cyclists each, though the 2020 format has no races with more than six.

The cyclists follow a pace motorcycle for three laps (750 m) before the motorcycle pulls away and the cyclists race for another three laps.

These distances are changed from the 2016 Games, shortening the paced section from 5½ laps and lengthening the unpaced sprint from 2½ laps. The motorcycle starts at 30 km/h and increases speed to 50 km/h before it pulls away.

The tournament consists of four main rounds, up from three in 2016, and a repechage:^[4][5]

• First round: Four heats of six cyclists and one of five, with the top two in each heat (10 total) advancing to the second round; all others (19 cyclists) go to the repechage.
• Repechage: Three heats of five cyclists and one of four, with the top two in each heat (8 total) rejoining the first-round winners in the second round; the remaining 11 cyclists are eliminated.
• Second round: Three heats of six cyclists each. The top four cyclists in each heat (12 total) advance to the semifinals; the remaining six cyclists are eliminated.
• Semifinals: Two heats of six cyclists each; the top three in each semifinal (six total) advance to Final A and medal contention; the bottom three cyclists from each semifinal go to Final B.
• Finals: Two finals. Final A consists of the top six cyclists, awarding medals and 4th through 6th place. Final B ranks the next six cyclists from 7th to 12th place.

Schedule

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)^[6]

Date	Time	Round
4 August 2021	16:10 17:11	First round Repechages
5 August 2021	16:06 16:57 17:37	Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals

Results

First round

Heat 1 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap[7] Notes 1 Laurine van Riessen  Netherlands QF 2 Zhong Tianshi  China +0.174 QF 3 Lee Hye-jin  South Korea +0.371 R 4 Jessica Lee  Hong Kong +0.445 R 5 Katy Marchant  Great Britain REL R Heat 2 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap Notes 1 Lea Friedrich  Germany QF 2 Daria Shmeleva  ROC +0.102 QF 3 Lee Wai-sze  Hong Kong +0.188 R 4 Charlene du Preez  South Africa +0.309 R 5 Coralie Demay  France +0.425 R 6 Miglė Marozaitė  Lithuania +1.364 R Heat 3 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap Notes 1 Kelsey Mitchell  Canada QF 2 Daniela Gaxiola  Mexico +0.100 QF 3 Anastasia Voynova  ROC +0.119 R 4 Bao Shanju  China +0.206 R 5 Emma Hinze  Germany +0.310 R 6 Lyubov Basova  Ukraine +0.554 R

Heat 4 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap Notes 1 Olena Starikova  Ukraine QF 2 Yuka Kobayashi  Japan +0.070 QF 3 Shanne Braspennincx  Netherlands +0.105 R 4 Ellesse Andrews  New Zealand +0.182 R 5 Marlena Karwacka  Poland +0.400 R 6 Simona Krupeckaitė  Lithuania +1.093 R Heat 5 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap Notes 1 Lauriane Genest  Canada QF 2 Madalyn Godby  United States +0.075 QF 3 Urszula Łoś  Poland +0.159 R 4 Kaarle McCulloch  Australia +0.365 R 5 Yuli Verdugo  Mexico +0.440 R 6 Mathilde Gros  France +1.126 R

Repechages

Heat 1 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap[8] Notes 1 Ellesse Andrews  New Zealand QF 2 Lyubov Basova  Ukraine +0.074 QF 3 Lee Hye-jin  South Korea +0.133 4 Jessica Lee  Hong Kong +1.005 5 Miglė Marozaitė  Lithuania +1.241 Heat 2 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap Notes 1 Lee Wai-sze  Hong Kong QF 2 Kaarle McCulloch  Australia +0.146 QF 3 Simona Krupeckaitė  Lithuania +0.554 4 Yuli Verdugo  Mexico +0.601 5 Bao Shanju  China +0.620

Heat 3 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap Notes 1 Katy Marchant  Great Britain QF 2 Mathilde Gros  France +0.137 QF 3 Anastasia Voynova  ROC +0.143 4 Marlena Karwacka  Poland +0.243 5 Charlene du Preez  South Africa +0.351 Heat 4 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap Notes 1 Shanne Braspennincx  Netherlands QF 2 Emma Hinze  Germany +0.005 QF 3 Urszula Łoś  Poland +0.119 4 Coralie Demay  France +0.603

Quarterfinals

Heat 1 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap[9] Notes 1 Lee Wai-sze  Hong Kong SF 2 Olena Starikova  Ukraine +0.029 SF 3 Daria Shmeleva  ROC +0.086 SF 4 Emma Hinze  Germany +0.490 SF 5 Katy Marchant  Great Britain +41.527 6 Laurine van Riessen  Netherlands DNF Heat 2 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap Notes 1 Shanne Braspennincx  Netherlands SF 2 Ellesse Andrews  New Zealand +0.052 SF 3 Daniela Gaxiola  Mexico +0.084 SF 4 Lauriane Genest  Canada +0.094 SF 5 Mathilde Gros  France +0.312 6 Lea Friedrich  Germany +0.313

Heat 3 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap Notes 1 Kelsey Mitchell  Canada SF 2 Kaarle McCulloch  Australia +0.136 SF 3 Zhong Tianshi  China +0.152 SF 4 Lyubov Basova  Ukraine +0.354 SF 5 Madalyn Godby  United States +0.434 6 Yuka Kobayashi  Japan +0.447

Semifinals

Heat 1 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap[10] Notes 1 Olena Starikova  Ukraine FA 2 Ellesse Andrews  New Zealand +0.017 FA 3 Lyubov Basova  Ukraine +0.071 FA 4 Daniela Gaxiola  Mexico +0.097 FB 5 Lee Wai-sze  Hong Kong +0.153 FB 6 Zhong Tianshi  China +0.322 FB

Heat 2 Rank Cyclist Nation Gap Notes 1 Shanne Braspennincx  Netherlands FA 2 Kelsey Mitchell  Canada +0.277 FA 3 Lauriane Genest  Canada +0.315 FA 4 Daria Shmeleva  ROC +0.320 FB 5 Kaarle McCulloch  Australia +0.400 FB 6 Emma Hinze  Germany +0.814 FB

Finals

Final B

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Gap	Notes
7	Emma Hinze	Germany
8	Lee Wai-sze	Hong Kong	+0.043
9	Kaarle McCulloch	Australia	+0.097
10	Daria Shmeleva	ROC	+0.163
11	Daniela Gaxiola	Mexico	+0.617
12	Zhong Tianshi	China	+0.729

Final A

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Gap[11]	Notes
	Shanne Braspennincx	Netherlands
	Ellesse Andrews	New Zealand	+0.061
	Lauriane Genest	Canada	+0.148
4	Olena Starikova	Ukraine	+0.396
5	Kelsey Mitchell	Canada	+0.566
6	Lyubov Basova	Ukraine	+0.580

See also

• Keirin
• Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics
• Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's keirin
• Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's BMX racing

References

1. "Cycling Track Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
2. "Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Road Cycling" (PDF). Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
3. "Olympic Track Cycling at Tokyo 2020: Top Five Things to Know". Retrieved 28 June 2021.
4. "UCI CYCLING REGULATIONS PART 3 TRACK RACES" (PDF). UCI. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
5. Liam Nee (26 March 2021). "Cycling 101: Competition format". NBC. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
6. "Cycling Track – Competition Schedule" (PDF). olympics.com. TOCOG. 12 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
7. "Cycling Track – Women's Keirin – First Round Results" (PDF). olympics.com. TOCOG. 4 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
8. "Cycling Track – Women's Keirin – Repechages Results" (PDF). olympics.com. TOCOG. 4 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
9. "Cycling Track – Women's Keirin – Quarterfinals Results" (PDF). olympics.com. TOCOG. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
10. "Cycling Track – Women's Keirin – Semifinals Results" (PDF). olympics.com. TOCOG. 4 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
11. "Cycling Track – Women's Keirin – Final Classification" (PDF). TOCOG. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.