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Olympic track cyclist Kelly Catlin died Friday. She was 23.
"There isn't a minute that goes by that we don't think of her and think of the wonderful life she could have lived," Mark Catlin, Kelly's father, wrote to VeloNews. "There isn't a second in which we wouldn't freely give our lives in exchange for hers. The hurt is unbelievable."
Mark Catlin said his daughter killed herself. She was found at her home in California.
"The entire cycling community is mourning this immense loss," USA Cycling chief executive Rob DeMartini said in a statement. "We are offering continuous support to Kelly's teammates, coaches and staff. We also encourage all those who knew Kelly to support each other through the grieving."
Catlin won a silver medal as part of the women's pursuit team at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. She was also attending Stanford in pursuit of a degree in computational mathematics.
Though she did not begin cycling until age 17, Catlin quickly became one of the best competitors in the United States. She won an Olympic medal just four years into her cycling career and was competing for the Rally UHC Pro Cycling Team.
"The news of Kelly Catlin's passing has hit the team hard. Losing an incredible person at such a young age is very difficult," Rally Pro Cycling said in a statement. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family and those who were fortunate enough to know her best."
Olympic track cyclist Kristina Vogel has announced she is paralysed after suffering a spinal injury during a crash in training.
"It is s--t, there's no other way to put it," she told Der Spiegel (h/t Reuters, via NBC Sports). "No matter how you package it, I can't walk anymore. But I believe that the sooner you accept a new situation, the sooner you learn to deal with it."
Vogel suffered the accident in June when she "fell onto a concrete track following a high-speed collision with another cyclist," per NBC Sports.
The 27-year-old won gold in the team track sprint at the 2012 London Olympic Games. She also won an individual sprint gold four years later in Rio de Janeiro.
Vogel was speaking about her injuries for the first time, and she explained why she delayed the announcement.
"I didn't want people to see me that injured," she told Der Spiegel (h/t the Guardian). "Now I can say I have reached a point where I can say: Here I am and I am fine. I am still the same crazy person. I want to be a source of motivation for others."
After the accident, four-time world champion Maximilian Levy wrote a letter to riders asking them to donate prize money to help fund Vogel's rehabilitation:
Fellow cyclists have also sent messages of support for the 11-time world champion. Mexican cyclist Luis Lemus shared his admiration for Vogel:
Six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy offered his tribute, per BBC Sport.
"She is already one of the greatest track sprinters in history, but there was so much more to come from her. It's absolutely heartbreaking," he said. "I have no doubt that in the future she will find new ways to challenge herself and to achieve greatness again and in doing so continue to inspire."
Vogel was previously placed in a coma for two days after being knocked off her bike by a vehicle in May 2009.
She made a full recovery and became the first German to win Olympic gold in the sprint when she topped the standings in Rio.
Italy's Elia Viviani claimed the gold medal in the men's omnium at Rio 2016 on Monday, as he produced an exemplary points race to protect his lead from the first five events.
Great Britain's Mark Cavendish came in second, with the 31-year-old claiming his first Olympic medal after he was left disappointed at London 2012 and Beijing 2008.
He was pushed all the way by Lasse Hansen, the defending champion, but despite a huge effort from the Dane, he had to settle for bronze.
Here are the scores for the top three after a fascinating two days of action:
| Medallists | Scratch Race | Individual Pursuit | Elimination Race | Time Trial | Flying Lap | Points Race | Total |
| Elia Viviani (ITA), Gold | 28 | 36 | 40 | 36 | 38 | 29 | 207 |
| Mark Cavendish (GBR), Silver | 30 | 38 | 28 | 30 | 36 | 32 | 194 |
| Lasse Hansen (DEN), Bronze | 40 | 40 | 6 | 32 | 34 | 40 | 192 |
Full results at Rio2016.com.
It was close in the fight for the medal positions going into the final two events. Viviani led the way with 140 points; Cavendish and the Frenchman Thomas Boudat were tied in second with 126 points, while Hansen and the Colombian Fernando Gaviria were a little further back with 118.
Hansen, 24, led comfortably after the first two events, having won both the scratch race and the individual pursuit, per British Cycling:
However, he dropped to sixth overall, as he bafflingly was the first rider to fall out of the elimination race, earning just six points to eventual winner Viviani's 40.
Cavendish was looking good to place well in the elimination race, before frustration got the better of him when he was boxed in and he illegally dropped below the track to make a pass. He earned 28 points for coming seventh.
In the time trial, New Zealand's Dylan Kennett produced a personal-best time of just over a minute to win the event, and Viviani, Hansen and Cavendish all finished well to stay in contention.
Kennett also headed the standings in the penultimate discipline, setting a flying lap of 12.506 seconds.
Cavendish moved into second on his own after a third-place finish, but the 27-year-old Viviani stretched his lead in the overall rankings to 16 points by posting the second-fastest flying lap.
Peloton Watch provided the top eight riders with just the points race to go:
In the last and deciding event, Hansen made the first threatening break, as he went in search of the 20-point bonus for gaining a lap on the field. He eventually made the move stick to jump into the silver-medal position with 113 laps to go.
Five laps later, Cavendish caused a crash that saw Viviani go down while the Briton survived. Amid some commotion as the fallen riders rejoined, Germany's Roger Kluge and Gaviria got their own 20-point bonuses as they made up a lap.
South Korea's Sanghoon Park came off worst from the crash and was unable to rejoin the pack. The race was neutralised as he was stretchered out the velodrome.
The lull allowed some of those who had made attacks to settle back down, and Cavendish looked to stretch the race upon resumption.
Viviani looked solid as he played a defensive game, protecting his lead by responding at the right time to his main competitors.
When Cavendish claimed all five points in the 12th of the 16th sprints, the Italian grabbed three points behind him and kept similarly close to Hansen when the Dane burst forward in the 13th.
Viviani then won the 14th sprint ahead of Cavendish, and the Team GB rider moved himself level on terms with Hansen in the battle for the silver medal.
The Italian had the event all but wrapped up as the final laps unfolded and it became a battle for second between Hansen and Cavendish.
The Dane looked to stretch the race but could not pip Cavendish in the final two sprints, which means the 30-time Tour de France stage winner took the silver medal.
Great Britain set yet another world record to win the women's team pursuit event in track cycling during Saturday's 2016 Summer Olympics action, beating the United States by more than two seconds.
Joanna Rowsell Shand, Laura Trott, Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker were the favourites entering the final, and they more than lived up to that name, dominating the American team from start to finish.
In the women's keirin, Britain's Becky James took the silver medal, as she just failed to overtake Elis Ligtlee of the Netherlands. Anna Meares of Australia finished third.
Here's a look at Saturday's medal winners, complete with their finishing times:
| Women's Team Pursuit | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Keirin | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Great Britain | USA | Canada | |
| Time | 4:10.236 | 4:12.454 | 4:14.627 |
| Elis Ligtlee (NED) | Rebecca James (GBR) | Anna Meares (AUS) | |
| Time | 11.217 | +0.033 | +0.038 |
The keirin is one of the most exciting events in cycling and always draws huge crowds for its sheer madness and the high spectacle value. BBC Sport's Dan Walker tuned in, and he was rather jealous of the pace-maker:
Kristina Vogel of Germany, Ligtlee of the Netherlands and Anastasia Vionova of Russia qualified from the first heat, a heat in which Martha Bayona of Colombia took a nasty spill inside the final 200 metres that interrupted the momentum of a few riders.
The race itself was hardly exciting, as Vogel finished well ahead of Ligtlee and Vionova, who both easily beat their opponents.
The second heat was much closer, as Australia's Meares narrowly beat James to the top spot. Liubov Basova of Ukraine qualified with the duo.
British swimmer Jazz Carlin was impressed with her team-mate:
The six finalists were then given a short break, as the team pursuit finalists took to the track to distribute the medals.
Canada cruised to a win over New Zealand for the bronze, beating their opponents by almost four seconds. But all eyes were on the final, where favourites Great Britain took on the United States.
The Brits built an early lead, and with Rowsell Shand powering the team, the gap quickly grew. The U.S. were the first to lose a rider, while Trott, Archibald and Barker further pushed the advantage.
By the end of the race, the British team had their opponents in their sights in the straights, and the final result was never in doubt. Per Cycling Weekly, the four set yet another world record:
Matt Stephens of Global Cycling Network was impressed with both teams:
According to BBC Sport's Stephan Shemilt, Trott was taken aback with the time the team put together, saying: "The feeling we were getting, it was like this machine was coming together. To come away with (a time of) 4.10 was honestly incredible."
The keirin final followed soon after, and after a slow start, the race heated up in the final laps. James sat on Meares' wheel for the bulk of the race, following the pace of the favourite. She entered the final lap in fifth place.
Her final sprint was impressive, but she left it just too late and ran out of track before she could overtake Ligtlee. She did enough to hold off Meares, however, taking the silver medal and adding to Britain's sublime record on the track.
Ligtlee was the big winner of the final, though, taking her first Olympic gold. The 22-year-old is seen as one of the biggest talents in the sport and has found success early in both the sprint and the keirin, so the sky appears to be the limit.
