Keely Ainslie

Keely Ainslie

• Winner of NBC Sports “Next Olympic Hopeful” - Season one

• 2019 National Championship Silver Medalist - 500m TT

• 2019 National Championship Silver Medalist - Team Sprint

• 2021 National Championship Silver Medalist - 500m TT

• 2021 National Championship Silver Medalist - Team Sprint

My love of bikes started at the age of 5 with BMX racing. My 3 older siblings had started before I did and I couldn’t wait to get on the track. Growing up with a big family with 9 siblings, BMX was a great way to do a sport together. I raced as a competitive amateur until I decided to turn professional in 2010, when I turned 16, starting with Junior Women and moving to Elite Women at 18.

Racing against the best in the world and Olympians sparked a dream inside me of being an Olympian myself.

I attended a few USAC U23 BMX training camps and was focused on taking the next step in my cycling career when I was sidelined with an injury that unfortunately started a string of concussions in the next few years.

Looking for something slightly safer for my brain, I was given the opportunity to try Track Cycling on the first season of the NBC Sports TV show “Next Olympic Hopeful”. I was named the winner and showed strong potential as a team sprint starter and that got the ball rolling for my journey into Track Cycling.

In August of 2018, I was put into contact with my coach Lee Povey and everything started to come together. I loved riding the track as soon as I started. At my first National Championships in 2019, I earned two silver medals, one in Team Sprint as a starter with Kayla Hankins and the other in the 500m TT. I also finished with two 4th places in the Sprint and Keirin after being in the sport for only 11 months. Pushing myself and seeing development is so motivating. There is always more to develop and work on not matter what level you are.

In the early months of 2020, I was added to the Olympic Development Program after a strong performance at a LAVRA event at the Velo Sports Center in Carson, CA.

My Olympic dream is still alive and I feel more confident than ever that I can achieve my goals. My passion for bicycles and the people I’ve meet along the way is what drives me to push myself and my teammates to be the best racers we can be.