The Colombian Martha Bayona was ratified as one of the trump cards of Colombia and America in any universal scenario, by winning this Sunday the silver medal in the keirin event of the World Track Championship, which is held in Glasgow, the first for her country in this fair.
Bayona began the competition in the third heat to qualify for the semifinal. She there she beat the Dutch Hetty van der Wouw and the Belgian Nicky Degrendele. For her part in the semifinal, she won her heat in which she competed alongside Dutchwoman Mathilde Gros from France, Kelsey Mitchell from Canada, Emma Hinzey from Germany and Kristina Clonan from Australia.
She played the turn to the final and the Colombian did not despair at any time. She did a very tactical race. On the penultimate lap around the velodrome track Chris Hoy took the lead of the pack of six runners and only in the last meters the New Zealander Ellesse Andrews was able to overcome her by barely half a wheel. In bronze she was the German Lea Friedrich.
Martha has had an excellent sports cycle since 2012 with several medals in international competitions at all levels. She has been Pan American champion in team sprint and keirin, South American champion in team sprint, individual and keirin, Central American runner-up in individual sprint and third in keirin.
One of her most remembered triumphs occurred in 2019, when she won the keirin during the Track World Cup in Brisbane, Australia. However, she accumulates two more silvers in these Cups, in Cali and in Los Angeles, both in 2022.
Her goal, as she has stated, is to participate in the next Olympic Games in Paris 2024 and get an Olympic medal. To qualify, she must march among the leaders of the individual and team rankings and with this second place in Glasgow she has just scored the necessary points to almost get the ticket to the French capital.
Bayona began to practice this discipline when her coaches discovered her strength for packing and her intelligence to anticipate her rivals. Although she also runs the individual and team sprints and the 500 meter time trial, the keirin is her favorite event.
With this medal, Colombia was one of the 33 delegations that have managed to climb to a podium in this Unified Cycling World Championship, and is ranked 26th, with the third best record in the Americas, only surpassed by the United States and Brazil.