Catlin took her own life last week – her family said concussion may have contributed to her state of mind
A memorial fund to honour track star Kelly Catlin has been launched by the US cycling governing body.
USA Cycling set up the Kelly Catlin Fund in memory of the Olympic silver medallist and three-time world champion who died last week
Catlin, 23, took her own life after previously trying to kill herself in January.
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Her father Mark Catlin said: “Kelly was many things to many people.
“She was a daughter, a sister, a friend and team-mate, a scholar, a cyclist, a musician and an artist.
“We hope that through this fund Kelly’s legacy will continue to live on.”
The Kelly Catlin Fund will accept gifts to fund programs or services within USA Cycling, with the full details to be determined after the organisation consults with the Catlin family.
Catlin, born in Minnesota, earned bachelor’s degrees in biomedical engineering and Chinese from the University of Minnesota in 2019.
She was studying for a master’s degree in computational and mathematical engineering at Stanford University.
After starting her racing career as a junior with the NorthStar Development Team, she went on to first represent Team USA at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships in the junior road race and time trial.
She was invited to join the national team as a track rider, going on to win three World Championships as part of the women’s team pursuit squad in 2016, ’17 and ’18.
Head track endurance coach at USA Cycling, Gary Sutton, said: “Kelly brought a certain spark to the team whenever they were together, whether it was for a training camp or a competition.
“Her quiet focus and work ethic spurred the other women to give 100 per cent every time they got on the bike.
“Kelly will be missed by all of us and will never be far from our minds.”
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Her father Mark has suggested a concussion suffered in December may have contributed to her state of mind before her death.
She had written an article for VeloNews in February about the stresses of combining her grad school studies and pro racing.
President and CEO of USA Cycling Rob De Martini said: “Kelly accomplished more by the age of 23 than many accomplish in a lifetime.
“The magnitude of her passing has been felt across our entire community.
“We know, that through this fund, Kelly will continue to make a difference.”
