Monique Sullivan

Biography

Monique Sullivan made her Olympic debut at London 2012 as the lone female sprinter on the Canadian track cycling team. Coming off a pair of gold medals at the Pan American Championships, Sullivan worked her way into the six-woman Olympic keirin final, placing ahead of some of the world’s best sprinters. After the Games, Sullivan took a break from the sport to attend school and just be herself. She returned to racing in May 2014 and in September won gold in the keirin and silver in the sprint at the Pan American Championships. She also returned to the World Cup circuit, racing the keirin, sprint and team sprint (with Kate O’Brien). In February 2015 she just missed the podium at the UCI World Championships, finishing fourth in the keirin for her best ever result at the global event. Sullivan became one of Canada’s most decorated athletes at the 2015 Pan Am Games with her triple gold medal performance, sweeping the sprint events at the velodrome in Milton. In December 2015 she earned her first career World Cup medal with her third place finish in the keirin in Cambridge, New Zealand. With O’Brien by her side, Sullivan competed in all three track cycling sprint events at Rio 2016.

Getting to know…

Family: Parents Patrick Sullivan and Suzanne Leclerc… Older sister Annalise… Older brother Ryan… Getting into the Sport: Introduced to track cycling at age 12… Was signed up for a course at the University of Calgary where the development program included getting kids to experience the cement velodrome… At age 15 competed in the junior category (meant for ages 17-18) at the Canadian championships and finished second in the 500m time trial but had the medal taken back because she wasn’t age-eligible… Outside Interests: Took nine years to complete mechanical engineering degree at University of Calgary… Odds and Ends: Favourite quote: “Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself-and be lenient to everybody else.” – Henry Ward Beecher…