Rebecca Petch

Te Awamutu rider Rebecca Petch is now a double Olympian and an Olympic silver medalist. At Paris 2024, Rebecca competed in the Women’s Keirin, where she advanced to the semifinals but was eliminated after finishing fifth, while her teammate Ellesse Andrews went on to win. Rebecca was also a key member of the silver medal-winning New Zealand women’s sprint cycling team, serving in the critical starter role in the sprint relay. This team set a world record in the relatively new three-woman sprint relay on their way to the final. In the final, they were overpowered by the formidable British team, who broke the world record in all three of their races that day, clocking in at 45.186s. New Zealand couldn’t quite replicate their earlier form but still delivered a fast 45.659s.

Rebecca, 26, finished 12th in BMX at the Tokyo Olympics and is a multi-national elite champion in BMX Racing, with numerous world championship age-group medals to her name before making her Olympic debut in Tokyo.

She adapted quickly to track cycling, specializing as the starter. She broke the national record for the standing one-lap and has achieved world-class times as the starter in the women’s sprint team, which also set new national and Oceania records.