Emma Finucane flies to women's keirin bronze

Cycling Track 08 Aug 24

Emma Finucane claimed her second medal of the Paris 2024 Olympics with bronze in the women’s keirin.

The 21-year-old opened her debut Olympics in style with team sprint gold alongside Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell before claiming her first individual medal on Thursday.

The Carmarthen star finished third behind champion Ellesse Andrews of New Zealand, who added the Olympic crown to her world title and Hetty van de Wouw of the Netherlands took silver.

Finucane eased through her quarter-final but was made to sweat in the semi-final, edging through on a photo finish as the third of three qualifiers in her race, but revealed she dug deep to narrowly beat team-mate Marchant to the final place on the podium.

“Going up in that final and scraping through the semi, I knew I had to find something in my legs that I hadn't seen before,” she said.

"Ellesse Andrews is world champion, she has demonstrated today that she is so strong and all of the other girls in that final, we’re the strongest girls in the world that’s why we are in the Olympic final.

“To even be there next to one of my best friends Katy Marchant was such a pinch me moment.

“To get a bronze medal, it literally feels like gold to me because I left everything out there on the track.

“If you told me a year ago I’d be coming to the Olympics and getting a gold in track sprint and then bronze in keirin, I would've been like ‘no way’ but here I am."

Finucane will go for a third medal in the individual sprint on Sunday and is taking plenty of confidence from already having a gold and bronze under her belt.

The 21-year-old was crowned world champion in the individual sprint last year, but admitted that becoming an Olympian is still something she is getting used to.

She added: “I’m just going to take each day as it comes. The sprint is three days so it’s a long competition. I just want to enjoy it. I have nothing to lose with two medals already so I’m just going to leave it all out on the track.

“After today, I know the legs are there. To get a gold and bronze is surreal so I’ll see what I can do on Sunday but I need to make it there first and these girls are really, really strong. I know I’m up there too but I just want to enjoy my Olympics and I am, I’m living my best life.

“I’ve been sleeping with the gold medal under my pillow like the tooth fairy. I’m sharing with Katy so I was like ‘hey Olympic gold medallist’. I’ll sleep with the bronze under my pillow as well.

“I was in an interview there and Victoria Pendleton started talking to me and I almost started crying. I’ve had so many messages, the support has been unreal. I can’t believe I’ve stacked up against some of the best girls in the world.”

For Marchant, there is the disappointment of just missing out on a third Olympic medal following individual sprint bronze at Rio 2016 and the gold she won alongside Finucane and Capewell earlier in the week.

But the self-professed ‘mum’ of the British sprint squad could not hide her pride in seeing Finucane once again take the podium.

“Fourth hurts a bit but I'm really happy with how I rode today,” she said.

“It's such a high standard in the field and to have both me and Emma lining up in a keirin final after what we did Monday is special.

“It hurts a little bit but I think that I'll look back on this whole week with crazy fond memories.

“I'm so happy for Emma, I love her to bits and she's inspired me so much on my journey in getting back into bike racing.

“She re-lit that fire for me and I'm proud of her. To get a bronze medal today, this is just the start of a phenomenal career for her, and I guess I'm just on the flip side of that but it's so great to be alongside that. She's an absolute legend.”

Sportsbeat 2024

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