Over the past three years, Workforce GB monitor bicycle owner Mark Stewart has in all probability taken on extra professions than some other rider contained in the Paris Olympics velodrome.
He has labored as a canine walker, a babysitter, a lifeguard, and now, after a last-minute call-up for Saturday’s Madison occasion, he has one other function so as to add to his CV: Olympian.
The 28-year-old was by no means anticipating to race his bike in Paris. He travelled to the Olympics as a reserve within the monitor squad, able to be known as upon if catastrophe struck. That second got here when Ethan Hayter pulled out of the Madison with a muscle pressure, suffered when he fell out of his saddle in Wednesday’s crew pursuit ultimate.
“I discovered this morning,” Stewart stated. “I anticipated it. I assumed, ‘Proper, there’s an opportunity I am going to get the decision up right here.’ So I used to be prepared. I took the function significantly.
“[Racing] is a horrendous mixture of the worst nerves you’ve got ever had, and confidence, as a result of we’re high-performance athletes, and we have this superb assist from British Biking. You do go up there assured, however on the similar time, you’ve got bought this contrasting factor of being essentially the most nervous you’ve got ever been in your life.”
Paired along with his teammate and buddy Ollie Wooden, Stewart completed twelfth within the race, a consequence that left him “gutted”. Nonetheless, the Olympics are solely the third championship occasion the Scot has performed with the nationwide squad since he was dropped by British Biking in 2020, shortly after the Covid pandemic was declared.
“When British Biking kicked me off and dropped me from the programme, it was really lovely circumstances, though I didn’t realize it on the time,” he stated. “I simply bought out to New Zealand to go to my fiancée, Emma [Cumming], Covid occurred, New Zealand locked down their borders, and I ended up staying for 2 years.
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“British Biking supported me financially once they kicked me off due to the occasions, Covid, so I used to be capable of practice for the primary 12 months full-time. For the second 12 months I used to be there, the cash ran out. So I wanted to get jobs.”
(Picture credit score: Alex Whitehead/SWpix)
Within the months that adopted, Stewart mixed his coaching with as much as 50-hour working weeks, now and again waking up at 3am to experience his bike.
“I began off babysitting and canine strolling for a detailed household that I do know, and I beloved that, and I discovered quite a lot of objective in that,” he stated. “I beloved working for Taku Wairua, a self growth programme, the place we went into low socio-economic faculties, and I taught youngsters over 10 weeks about their values and who they’re as people.
“I used to be additionally a lifeguard crew chief, and I had 5 – 6 younger lifeguards I used to be taking care of, and I needed to point out them that I might get my coaching performed earlier than work began at 5:30am. I believe they thought I used to be fortunate being an athlete, however I needed to point out them it was a acutely aware resolution, and if you’d like one thing, you can also make it occur.”
Stewart re-entered the British Biking fray early final 12 months, when he raced at a Nations Cup meet in Canada, his first occasion for GB in over three years. He then went on to compete on the World Championships in Glasgow, using with Wooden within the Madison, and incomes the silver medal.
Not anticipating a call-up for the Olympics, Stewart stated he was “over the moon” to be requested to be the reserve within the males’s endurance squad.
“It is super-special, to be sincere,” he stated. “I joined the British Biking programme in 2014, and spent 5 years making an attempt to go to Tokyo. The other occurred. They kicked me off. So even simply to work my method again into the squad and compete on the Worlds in Glasgow final 12 months was phenomenal. After which to get known as as much as be a reserve, to play a assist function for my shut associates, my teammates, was superb.”
Now, he stated, his focus is already on the subsequent Olympics, scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028.
Does Stewart hope to be there? “Completely,” he stated. “The attractive factor about Madison is all of the ages, shapes, everybody’s on the market. I spoke to Roger Kluge, and I believe he is knocking on the door of 40 [years old], and I stated, ‘Are you going to retire this 12 months?’ and he stated, ‘No! I’m going to go for a pair extra years.’ If he can go a pair extra years, so can I.”