CALGARY -- Allison Beveridge knows what it’s like to be an Olympian, having competed at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio De Janeiro, where she came away with a medal.

Along with teammates Jasmin Glaesser, Kristi Lay and Georgia Simmerling, Beveridge captured bronze in the women’s team pursuit.

She says she will never forget the feeling but didn’t realize how big it was when it happened.

“At the time I was actually like, ‘OK another medal.’ And then you realize the importance of it and the pride of it,” she said.

“And then you come home and you get to share it with everyone.  You know the Games are something the entire country gets behind.”

Beveridge and her teammates have had plenty of success on the cycling track.  They’ve also won two silver and two bronze medals at the world championships.  A gold medal in front of the home crowd in Toronto at the 2015 Pan American Games and a bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

She really believed Canada’s cycling team had a shot at more medals at this summer’s Games in Tokyo, Japan.  But they were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beveridge says they’ll be ready whenever the Games do take place.

“This will be the biggest track cycling squad we’ve ever sent to a Games (17 athletes were named to the team).  We have men’s team pursuit.  We have women sprinters.  So I think the nation as a whole has a lot of enthusiasm for the team and that is really exciting.”

Beveridge would love to see the next generation of Olympians have a chance at the same success she’s had.

That’s why she’s one of the spokespersons for the RBC training ground, a program that helps identify future Olympians.

Beveridge says that program is going ahead this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic.  She says it will be done virtually.

“You just have to log on to rbctrainingground.ca and complete the sprint, vertical and the shuttle run tests by Dec. 1,” she said.

“They’ll look at your results and possibly contact you and do further testing.  You just have to upload your results and you’re good to go from there.”

Over the first five years of the RBC Training Ground Program, more than 8,500 athletes have been tested across Canada.  Of those, 1,000 were identified for further testing.