As hard as it may be to believe, Coquitlam's Jasmin Glaesser was virtually forced into taking up competitive cycling as a teenager.
Now 20, she's part of the Canadian women's track team pursuit squad that will compete in the 2012 London Olympics.
Glaesser was 15 and attending Terry Fox secondary school in Port Coquitlam when a series of injuries hindered her athletic progression as a runner. "I saw a chiropractor and he told me to pick another sport," Glaesser told espn.go.com.
Glaesser's father, a computer science professor at SFU, owned a road bike and suggested his daughter save up and buy one for herself.
"There was an indoor velodrome nearby [Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby] with a local learn-to-ride program, so that's how I started," she said.
A third-year math major at SFU, Glaesser hit the big-time cycling stage by helping Canada win gold at the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico. She has been a solid road racer since she first started spinning wheels - she placed fourth in the road portion of this year's Canadian championships and beat out two riders with more international experience, Vancouver's Laura Brown and Steph Roorda, to earn an Olympic spot.
Now, with Edmonton's Tara Whitten and Victo-ria's Gillian Carleton, Glaesser is considered a strong medal contender in London, especially after earning bronze at the 2012 UCI World Championships in Australia.
Born in Germany and having moved to Canada at age eight, Glaesser was only granted Canadian citizenship and the right to challenge for a national team berth just before the 2011 Pan Ams in Guadalajara, where she captured gold in the team pursuit with Brown and Roorda.
Women's cycling team pursuit trials at the London Olympics run Aug. 3.
