.jpg) Andrews in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1999-12-31)31 December 1999 (age 26) Christchurch, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Track | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rider type | Sprinter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ellesse Mote AndrewsMNZM (born 31 December 1999) is a New Zealandracing cyclist. She represented New Zealand at the2018 Commonwealth Games and the2020 Summer Olympics,[1] where she gained a silver medal in thekeirin.[2][3] At the2024 Summer Olympics, she earned two gold medals for winning thekeirin andsprint, as well as a silver medal in theteam sprint.[4]
Andrews was born inChristchurch Women's Hospital at 23:45 on 31 December 1999, fifteen minutes short of the year 2000.[5] Her father is Olympic cyclistJon Andrews, who represented New Zealand at the1990 Commonwealth Games and1992 Summer Olympics.[6] Her mother is Angela Mote-Andrews, who competed internationally inmountain biking. Mote-Andrews was preparing herself for her inaugural participation at world championships—the1999 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships inÅre, Sweden—when she got pregnant.[7] She has one younger sister.[8]
Andrews grew up inWānaka and attendedMount Aspiring College until the end of Year 11 before moving toSt Peter's School inCambridge for the final two years of secondary school.[9]
Andrews started cycling competitively aged 14, initially mountain biking but she soon changed to track cycling.[7] She asked her father to pay for dance classes and a deal was made that they would do more cycling. Shortly afterwards, her father bought her a track bike, which got her into track cycling.[10]
Andrews won four medals, including two gold at theUCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships.[7] Competing in theIzu Velodrome, she won a silver medal at the2020 Tokyo Olympics keirin. She had to go through the repechage to progress to quarter and semi finals. In the final, she moved into second place with two laps to go and held that place.[11]
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Andrews became the first woman to win the Olympic gold medal in both the keirin[12] and the sprint[13] at the same games.[14] She had earlier won the silver medal in the team sprint event, alongsideRebecca Petch andShaane Fulton.[15]
Team sprint
Individual pursuit
Individual pursuit[17]
Keirin
SprintKeirinTeam SprintAndrews won Secondary School Sportswoman of the Year at the February 2018 Waikato Regional Sports Awards. A week later, she won the Emerging Talent award at theHalberg Awards.[7]
In the2025 King's Birthday Honours, Andrews was appointed aMember of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to cycling.[24]
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by | Halberg Awards – Emerging Talent Award 2017 | Succeeded by |
