Alison Jackson gets last minute Olympic invite
Canada awarded third spot in women's road race in late change
In an exciting, very late development, Canada is adding a third rider to its women’s Olympic road race team. Alison Jackson received the last-minute call up, and is headed to Tokyo.
Jackson will join Leah Kirchmann and Karol-Ann Canuel in the women’s road race. Adding a third rider to the Canadian team is exciting for the Albertan, who gets to live her Olympic dream. It is also a huge boost to the Canadian squad’s chances in the road race, where having a strong team is essential.
“This has been an incredibly spiritual journey for me,” Jackson shared in a musical Instagram post. “I am honoured with this gift of being named to the Canadian Olympic team.”
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We have an exciting last minute addition to our #TeamCanada road team!@aliACTIONjackso has officially punched her ?️ to ?? and will make her Olympic debut at #Tokyo2020.
Congrats Alison, we can’t wait to see you race alongside @L_Kirch+ @KarolAnnCanuel
next week! pic.twitter.com/o2lWZEuDxB— Cycling Canada (@CyclingCanada) July 14, 2021
The news comes one week after Cycling Canada announced who would occupy the final spot on the three-rider men’s Olympic Road race squad. Guillaume Boivin of Montréal, Que. will join Michael Woods and Hugo Houle in Tokyo.
Unlike the men’s squad, who always had three spots, the extra women’s team spot came as a surprise. Canada earns the additional spot as a result of another country withdrawing from the event and vacating their spot.
Jackson’s Olympic nomination adds to a big year for the Canadian. At the start of 2021, she moved up to the Women’s World Tour to join the high-profile and highly successful Liv Racing squad.
Jackson shared the Olympic news and celebrated in her own fashion. As you might expect, it involved music and dancing:
