World and European champion Emma Finucane is hoping to inspire the next generation of young girls after helping to overhaul the fortunes of Great Britain’s women’s sprint squad.
Amid the dominance Britain has enjoyed in Olympic track cycling since Beijing, there had been a glaring weakness since London 2012, with the country failing to even qualify to race in the women’s team sprint at the last two Games as Katy Marchant was left to fly the flag alone in the individual events.
But a plan put in place after Rio to address that has begun bearing fruit since Tokyo, and Britain will head to Paris on the back of team sprint silver medals at both the World Championships in Glasgow last summer and at the European Championships in Apeldoorn in January.
Sophie Capewell, Lauren Bell and Milly Tanner have all earned their place on British Cycling’s Olympic Podium Programme alongside Marchant, and Finucane, 21, made herself the poster girl of the revolution with individual sprint titles at both world and European level in the last seven months.
“Women’s track sprinting has come on loads and I think that’s down to the strength in depth we have,” Finucane told the PA news agency while watching the next set of hopefuls race at the British National Championships in Manchester.
“Even at the nationals we have so many girls breaking personal bests and pushing each other on. We have that internal competition and it really, really helps the women’s sprint. Hopefully in Paris we will have a team sprint and that hasn’t been the case for the last two cycles.
“That is super exciting and I think it shows we can do it, we work just as hard as everyone else and the results will come.
“I hope to inspire younger people to get into sprinting because I didn’t really know a lot about it when I was younger. All you would see was Laura Kenny and the endurance riders, so I think it’s a huge thing for the women’s sprint.”
Finucane surprised herself with her victory in Glasgow last year, a title that thrust her onto the shortlist of favourites for Olympic success in Paris. But only three years ago she was a fresh-faced teenager trying to find her way around the Manchester velodrome after moving from home in Wales.
“I moved up in January of 2021 and I didn’t think Paris was a possibility for me,” she said. “I’m quite young and I’d just moved out of home and only just purely started track sprinting. My career progressed from there and I’m now trying to qualify for the Games so it really is exciting.
“I’ve just tried to take each race as it comes like I always do. I think there has been a part of my career that has happened quite quickly but I wouldn’t have it any other way, just living and riding my bike with these amazing girls around.”
The rainbow jersey has brought added attention and expectation but Finucane’s individual win at the Euros in January, again beating the German duo of Lea Friedrich and Emma Hinze who might expect to be the primary opposition in Paris, suggests she is handling it just fine.
“I’m aware of (the expectations) but I’m just going to try and enjoy the journey, not just focus on the outcome,” she said.
“I feel like that’s where people get lost. It’s a journey and there’s still a long way to go. I’m trying to enjoy the people around me, I still have my circle around me, and I just want to enjoy racing. I feel that’s when I’m at my best.”
On this day 2013: Six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy announces retirement
Six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy announced his retirement from competitive cycling 11 years ago, admitting: “I know it is the right decision.”
The 37-year-old Scot had been contemplating continuing until the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow but revealed he was quitting the sport at a press conference in Edinburgh on April 18, 2013.
Hoy was Britain’s most decorated Olympian after his haul of two gold medals at London 2012 saw him surpass rower Sir Steve Redgrave’s record of five, although he was overtaken by former team-mate Sir Jason Kenny in 2021.
In explaining his decision, Hoy said: “I think in sport at the highest level you’re dealing in such small margins and you can tell when you’re good but not good enough.
“It was very emotional coming in there (to the press conference) and I was trying not to watch the video montage with the sad music.
“I don’t want it to be a sad moment.
“I want to celebrate it and be happy because I know it is the right decision.
“It’s a decision that I didn’t take lightly and I thought about it very hard.”
As well as six Olympic titles, Hoy’s 13-year career featured 11 world titles and two Commonwealth crowns.
Hoy’s final race was the Olympic Keirin final on August 7, 2012 – on the final day of the London 2012 track programme.
Following retirement, Hoy pursued his passion for motorsport, including competing in the Le Mans 24 Hours, while he has also written children’s books.
In February 2024, the 48-year-old announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer.
Paul extends rich form with double gold; Browne, Campbell also among T&T's medals at PanAm Track Cycling Champs
Trinidad and Tobago’s ace cyclist Nicholas Paul continued his rich early season form as he wrapped up another double gold medal-winning outing at the just-concluded Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Los Angeles, California.
Paul’s medals were won in his customary events, the men's Keirin and Sprint, and followed his fairly successful outing at the UCI Championships in Hong Kong where he recovered from a two-cycle collision in the Keirin to win the Sprint.
The 23-year-old again expressed gratitude for the continued support as he represents the twin island republic with much gusto.
“It is always an honour to represent my country and the Pan American region. Thank you to everyone for all the love and continued support. The Journey continues and the next stop will be the Nations Cup in Milton, Canada. So, I just want to continue putting in the hard work and let it show in my performances,” Paul said.
In the Keirin, Paul topped Colombia’s Kevin Quintero, while another Trinidad and Tobago cyclist Kwesi Browne copped bronze.
However, it took a photo-finish to separate Paul and another Colombian Cristian Ortega for the Sprint crown. Paul bettered his South American rival in the first ride before edging ahead in the second ride on the line by millimeters to retain his title.
Meanwhile, Akil Campbell was also among the medals, as he won a bronze medal in the men's scratch race.
In other results at the meet, Alexi Ramirez finished eighth in the women's elimination race and in the women's scratch race, while Makaira Wallace and Phoebe Sandy placed 13th and 17th in the women's sprint qualification, respectively.
On this day in 2018: Scotland’s Katie Archibald wins Commonwealth Games gold
Scotland’s Katie Archibald added Commonwealth champion to her long list of accolades on this day in 2018.
Archibald, an Olympic, world and European champion in various disciplines, took gold in the women’s individual pursuit in Brisbane, having broken the Games record in a blistering qualifying session.
Her only previous Commonwealth medal was the bronze she won on home soil in the points race in Glasgow four years earlier.
Archibald, then aged 24, said before racing began gold was the only colour she wanted and swiftly delivered, covering the 3,000m distance in three minutes 26.088 seconds to beat Australian Rebecca Wiasak.
She had set the record at 3:24.119 in a qualifying session which saw three riders go under the previous record set by England’s Joanna Rowsell Shand in Glasgow.
“It means a lot, especially in the individual pursuit because it’s not an Olympic event,” said Archibald. “2014 always stands out as a big year for Joanna Rowsell to kind of echo, because she had the title and the Games record.
“You look at the success she carried from that point in her career. I’d be very proud.”
Fired up by his sister’s performance, Archibald’s brother John then added another medal to Scotland’s tally with silver in the men’s 4,000m individual pursuit as England’s Charlie Tanfield clinched gold.
“I watched her heat run and the pressure was on her,” said John Archibald.
“The Commonwealth Games record went and they all went better than her personal best so she had her back against the wall but she pulled out and delivered on the day and that got me going.”
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