Keely Shaw (born July 18, 1994) is a Canadian

track cyclist Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

. She represented Canada at the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

Early life and education

Shaw was born on July 18, 1994 to parents Carol and Greg Toles. She grew up on a farm in

Midale, Saskatchewan Midale () is a town in the Rural Municipality of Cymri No. 36, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located on Saskatchewan Highway 39, Highway 39, midway between the cities of Weyburn and Esteva ...

. At age 15 in 2009, she was involved in a horse-riding accident resulting in partial paralysis on her left side. She became interested in parasport in university. Shaw graduated from

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology in 2016. She then went on to complete a master's degree at the University of Saskatchewan in the area of exercise physiology and sport nutrition with a thesis titled "The Effect of Dark Chocolate on Metabolism and Performance in Trained Cyclists at Simulated Altitude". She continued her education with a Ph.D., also at the University of Saskatchewan in exercise physiology and sport nutrition with a special focus on sport nutrition for special populations, namely female, master's, and Paralympic athletes. Shaw defended her thesis in December 2023.

Career

Shaw began her cycling career in May 2017, competing in road race in Moose Jaw, and winning her first medal at a national championship a year later. She made a quick jump to the National team, earning a 5th place in the Individual pursuit in the women's C4 category at Paracycling Track World Championships in 2018 before earning her first World Championship podium in 2019 at the

UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships The UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships are the world championships for track cycling where athletes with a physical disability compete, organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The Championships were earlier administered by ...

. In 2021, she made her

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

debut, where she won a bronze medal in the individual pursuit C4 event with a time of 3:48.342 She was named the Sask Sport Female Athlete of the Year Award for 2021. Shaw won two bronze medals at the

2022 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships The 2022 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships was the 11th edition of the World Championships for road cycling for athletes with a physical disability. The championships took place in Baie-Comeau in Canada from 11 to 14 August 2022. Medalis ...

, one in the women's C4 70.2-kilometre road race and one in the women's C4 time trial. At the

2023 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships The 2023 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships was the 12th edition of the World Championships for road cycling for athletes with a physical disability. The championships took place in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland from 9 to 14 August 2023 ...

, Shaw won bronze in the women's C4 individual time trial. She won silver in the women's C4 individual pursuit at the

2023 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships The 2023 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships were held from 2 to 8 August 2023, at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, United Kingdom. It was held as part of the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships. The event was held as part of ...

. At the

2024 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships The 2024 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships was held from 20 to 24 March 2024, at the Olympic Velodrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Results Men Women Mixed Medal table China topped the medal table with fourteen golds, but by the ba ...

, she won a bronze medal in the women's C4 individual pursuit. She placed ninth in the 500m time trial. Shaw was selected to compete in para-cycling for Canada at the

, and won a bronze medal in the individual pursuit C4 event.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Keely 1994 births Living people Canadian female cyclists Paralympic cyclists for Canada Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Cyclists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada 21st-century Canadian sportswomen