Who is Emma Finucane? Britain's history-making sprint track cyclist

Cycling Track 21 Jul 24

World and European champion Emma Finucane is reviving the golden age of British women's sprint cycling.

The 21-year-old was the breakout star of the UCI World Championships in Glasgow last year, crowned Britain’s first world champion in women’s sprint for a decade before an equally impressive European championship saw the Carmarthen-born track cyclist double up as Britain's first-ever female sprint champion in Apeldoorn.

Since the era of Becky James and Victoria Pendleton and London 2012, GB have not qualified a team sprint for the Olympics, but Finucane and company are ready to change all that this summer.

The first British women's sprint world champion in a decade

In 2023, Finucane made her first entry into the history books with a br eakthrough performance at the World Championships, flying through 200m sprint qualifying to set a new sea level world record time of 10.234s.

Just hours later she was on the top step of the podium after beating out Germany's Lea Sophie Friedrich to the women's sprint title.

Pendleton won six world sprint titles during her time but the last British rider to do so was James, who struck gold in Minsk in 2013.

Finucane, whose potential is compared to that of Pendleton, said: “Since coming into sprinting in the last two or three years, I’ve massively looked up to Vicky and Becky, who is Welsh too, which is really special.

“I’ve got a really long way to go to be anywhere close to them because they are huge and they’ve done so much for the women’s programme.

“It’s exciting that it’s come back around now. We’re no longer the weakest link in British cycling, we are producing medals and great times and we are up there.

“I’m really excited to see what happens in Paris, and there’s still a lot of work to do."

The first-ever British women's sprint European champion

At just 21-years-old, Finucane has already achieved something even James and Pendleton could not: three European titles at a single event.

Sprint victory was paired with silver in the team sprint and keirin in the Netherlands to produce the best performance by a British sprinter at a European Championships, eclipsing Sir Jason Kenny's gold and two bronzes from 2010.

The Formula One fan breezed through her semi-final against Emma Hinze to set up a repeat of her victorious world championship final against Friedrich, winning the first two races and taking her opponent on the home straight in the second to clinch the title.

As Britain's history-maker now fuelling hope for a golden Olympic debut at Paris 2024, Finucane believes the sky is the limit for GB track cycling.

"Honestly the vibes in our pen have been unreal throughout the whole competition," she said.

"Whether they were winning or losing, everyone's cheering for each other and got each other's back.

"I feel like the momentum has really carried on throughout the week.

"This is a record-breaking Europeans and I can really feel that and it's exciting because we're in 2024 and the Olympics are approaching so I feel like this is really good momentum for GB."

The athletes guiding her to glory

Finucane won't be alone on her journey to a possible Olympic debut - with reigning BMX champion and fellow history-maker Beth Shriever guiding her through the process.

The two cyclists might compete in different fields but have been best friends for years with Finucane even staying up until 4am to send good luck messages to Shriever at Tokyo 2020.

"Beth Shriever is a good friend of mine," she said.

"It was her first Olympic Games [in Tokyo] so I stayed up until 4am to watch her compete.

"I had spoken to her the night before the finals and she was really excited after her incredible qualifying performance. The following day, she went on to win the whole event, making BMX history!

"I gained so much motivation and determination after her races and it is so inspiring to see how hard she trains day in, day out in the gym and on the track here in Manchester."

The Paris 2024 dreamer

With Paris 2024 now just days away, Finucane is set to shine again in the velodrome.

But with her flying form and continued success, history might just be closer than she thinks.

“I’m definitely going to use this momentum,” said Finucane.

“With the times I’ve put down, it’s all positive going into the Paris Olympics.

“I’m excited. I’m going into it with an open mind. We’re incredibly well supported and we have a great group of girls in the women’s sprint squad.

“As the Games get closer, things might change but for now, I’m just going to see what happens I guess.”

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