It just might be the strangest story of the Commonwealth Games, the one about track cyclist Ellesse Andrews and the silver medal she won but never got – then was fined $334 for her troubles.
On a hugely successful but bizarre first day for the crack sprinter, Andrews stepped up to help the chase team win silver before leading the sprint team to gold.
The 22-year-old came to the rescue of the pursuit team after they lost Ally Wollaston to injury on the eve of the Games, before digging deep to fend off the fast-finishing Canadians and claim New Zealand’s first-ever gold medal in the to secure a team sprint.
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Ellesse Andrews, left, won gold in the team sprint and silver in the team pursuit.
The pursuit team didn’t confirm they would race until Andrews agreed to give them the mandatory four riders.
She completed the first two laps of the qualifying stage and the gold medal stage before dismounting and letting Michaela Drummond, Emily Shearman and Bryony Botha do the rest.
But this is where the story gets crazy. Although Andrews will officially be considered a silver medalist in the pursuit, she will not actually be awarded a medal.
Why?
A spokesperson for the New Zealand Olympic Committee confirmed that because she was preparing for the team’s sprint final when the medal ceremony took place, and thus not being on the podium, she is not actually receiving a medal.
And for rubbing salt in the wound, under UCI rules, she not only lost her medal, Andrews was also fined CHF 200 ($334) and an unknown number of UCI points for missing the ceremony.
It begs the question of what would happen if a rider crashed on the finish line and had to go to the hospital instead of going to the medal ceremony?
Medal around her neck or not, Andrews has already officially won gold and silver with more to come.