Ellesse Andrews

Ellesse Andrews is the second New Zealander, after Dame Lisa Carrington, to win three Olympic medals at a single Games, achieving this feat at Paris 2024. Based in Cambridge, Andrews clinched gold in both the keirin and individual sprint events and earned a silver medal with the women’s sprint team.

The silver medal-winning New Zealand women’s sprint cycling team, which included Rebecca Petch and Shaane Fulton, set a world record in the new three-woman sprint relay during their run to the final. In the final, they were outpaced by the dominant British team, who broke the world record in all three of their races that day. Despite this, New Zealand delivered a strong performance with a time of 45.659s.

Jon Andrews, Ellesse’s father, is the sprint team coach and a former champion cyclist himself, having won two medals at the 1990 Commonwealth Games.

At 24, Andrews had already secured a silver medal in the keirin at the Tokyo Olympics and won the world title in Glasgow in 2023, a first for New Zealand female sprinters. In the Paris 2024 keirin final, she took the lead early and fended off strong challenges to win by 0.062s.

Having already contributed to the New Zealand track sprint team’s silver medal, Andrews demonstrated exceptional composure under pressure in Paris.

In the gold medal sprint final, Andrews faced German cyclist Lea Friedrich, an eight-time world champion. Andrews showcased her superior strength and speed, perfectly timing her closing sprints to secure the gold. The German cyclist couldn’t match her pace, making it clear that Andrews was on her way to victory.

The sprint gold was Andrews' fourth Olympic medal, placing her among only four New Zealanders with more than four Olympic medals. This gold medal was New Zealand’s 10th at the Paris Games.

Andrews achieved notable success in both sprint and endurance events at the junior World Championships, earning Emerging Talent honours at the Halberg Awards. She shifted her focus to sprinting, reaching fifth in the world in keirin during her first full season of international competition, before making a stunning Olympic debut in Tokyo and breaking the national record en route to the sprint semifinals.

She won three gold medals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, plus a silver in the Team Pursuit as a replacement for an injured rider, and claimed bronze in the sprint at the Glasgow World Championships and silver in the same event at last year’s world champs. Andrews was a finalist for the 2024 Halberg Sportswoman of the Year awards and joins Sarah Ulmer as one of New Zealand’s only Olympic cycling gold medallists.

Outside of cycling, Ellesse has a passion for music and co-composed the New Zealand Team song ‘Ain’t Just Dreaming’ with Olympian Max Brown.