Kelly Catlin: A family's search for answers on links between concussion and suicide

In January 2019, on a sunny day in the coastal mountains surrounding San Francisco, an Olympic medal-winning cyclist was racing down a twisting ribbon of tarmac, descending at the kind of blistering speed reserved for cars and motorbikes.

On a surface that had dried quickly after the first rainfall for weeks, Kelly Catlin suddenly lost control.

Her bike flew out from underneath her and tumbled down the hillside, coming to a stop in a cloud of dust. She was carried forward and skidded across the road, tumbling several times.

Catlin knew the drill of the hardened cyclist: jump up, survey the bike, examine the burning road rash and torn Lycra, get back up and finish the ride.

She seemed OK. She headed home. Later she spoke with her mum on the phone.

«She was telling me about it and kind of laughing,» Catlin's mother Carolyn Emory told BBC World Service.

«I asked her: 'Did you check your helmet?' 'No it's fine,' she said. But then she did check and it had dents on the front and back.»

Catlin didn't realise at the time, but she had suffered a concussion. Soon after, she began to experience painful and confusing symptoms. Her mood and behaviour changed, she became anxious and depressed. Her family was worried — she no longer seemed herself.

Two months later, Catlin had taken her own life. She was 23.

Looking for answers has been a long, painful and complex journey for her family.

But they believe doing so will help raise awareness about an issue that sport — and especially cycling — has for too long ignored.

One of triplets, Catlin was a gifted athlete growing up. She seemed destined to achieve in almost any sport she liked. She was an especially talented football player, but when injuries saw her take up cycling as a way of keeping