Early last year, when Karl McCulloch was eyeing a trip to the Tokyo Olympics, the Australian was certain to line up as a gold medal contender with Stephanie Morton in the team sprint, one of the more predictable track events. Then, a year late and the uncertainty of a teammate's retirement forced her to choose an unpredictable path on the track as well.

After 15 years of dedication to team sprinting, and now that Morton's replacement has not been found, she is the only remaining Olympic representative in women's track sprinting. Therefore, there was little choice but to shift to individual events, and Keirin, immensely popular in Japan, was a discipline in which she has had success, winning silver medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 World Championships. However, this discipline, which is known for its unpredictable results, has not been an opportunity for her to consistently turn her focus on it.

A team sprint bronze medalist at the London 2012 Olympics and reserve in Rio, she has competed primarily in the era of Australian track sprint powerhouses such as Anna Meares and Morton. As such, it was always a tough battle to earn a spot on the Olympic team, let alone a slot in an individual event.

"Over the past 15 years of my career, I have competed in literally every competition and prepared with my teammates for the team sprint. I couldn't really focus on the individual events because my teammates were the fastest riders in the world."

Morton, who last represented Australia in the Keirin at the 2020 Track World Championships and finished third, and Meares, who represented Australia in the Keirin at the last two Olympics and won bronze in Rio, have retired. But now McCulloch said that while this Olympics may not have been what he had initially hoped for, he felt it was the right time in his career to step into individual competition.

"The strategy I am taking in Keirin and the preparation I have done is the culmination of everything I have learned over the last 15 years. Now it's up to me to see what I can do on the course."

McCulloch said he is well prepared for the Keirin, which consists of five competition phases. Each event consists of three laps on the back of a bike to get up to speed, followed by a three-lap sprint against a group of competitors; with Australia closing its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rider from Sydney did not have the benefit of an international competition to prepare for her new Olympic plans. She may not have been able to take advantage, but she still managed to find ways to practice her skills, including racing with a group of riders assembled just for that purpose in the weeks before heading to Tokyo

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She also relied on the knowledge and experience of her former teammate Meares to develop her strategy, and in doing so, McCulloch stayed close to the unpredictable.

"Go big or go home," McCulloch said.

"It's a pretty risky strategy. Risky, but I think it will pay off and at this level you have to take risks. My strategy is a bit outlandish and it either pays off big time or it doesn't. Let's see what happens on race day."

On one level, McCulloch is happy to be on the starting line at this Olympics.

"The frustration of Rio, that was a really hard cycle," said McCulloch, who was clearly emotional about missing the last Olympics despite recovering from a knee injury. I didn't think it could get any harder. The last year and a half has been pretty tough, especially after my back injury."

"It's been a lot of hard work," she said.

"There have been many setbacks. Steph retired, COVID was formed, and many things happened one after another. There were a couple of political things going on behind the scenes, and after 78 days I wasn't even sure if I would be here. So it feels really good to be here and to know that I'm in line on Wednesday."

According to McCulloch, her uncertainty about whether she would be able to compete stems from the fact that she was selected to be a member of the team sprint, where she was assured of a gold medal, and entered the Olympics. According to McCulloch, there were issues of quotas and selection, as well as difficult questions like Morton's retirement and "Do I have a chance at a medal?"

So when asked if she still had something to prove, her answer was "definitely."

"I'm not perfectly prepared, but that doesn't mean I'm not competitive," McCulloch said.

The first round of the women's keirin begins at 16:10 p.m. Japan time on Wednesday, with the repechage at 17:11 p.m. The final to decide the medals will take place at 17:45 on Thursday.