Fair play to Erica Sedzro of Ghana.
She was lapped a couple of times at least by Josette Umi Kiarie of Kenya in the 4,000m individual pursuit, just minutes after she attempted to qualify in the women’s 200m sprint.
By a quirk of this being the first ever women’s 4,000m individual pursuit — the women used to race over 3,000m — Kiarie briefly held the Commonwealth Games record.
As impressive as it was for Sedzero to go from one event to the other, as she did so, it really did serve to highlight the inequality in track cycling programs around the world though.
Sedzro was in a loose-fitting jersey and, in the individual pursuit, she was riding a bike that did not have aero bars on the front like all the others.
I don’t know how much her bike would have cost — I believe it a Look based on photos, which will probably set you back anything between $3,000 and $11,000.
However, the Factor Pursuit Bike the Australian team used at the Paris 2024 Olympics cost a staggering €55,091 ($90,000+).
dan