Emma Finucane blazed to another bronze medal in the women’s individual sprint to secure her third medal on her Olympic debut to round off the final day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

Women’s individual sprint

Having qualified second and dominated in the individual sprint competition the last few days, Finucane had stiff competition in her semi-final match sprints against keirin champion Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand). Andrews just edged out Finucane on both occasions to put the Welsh rider into the bronze medal final against Hetty van de Wouw (Netherlands), with the Kiwi eventually going on to take the gold.

In the bronze medal final, van de Wouw rode tactically in true cat and mouse style in an attempt to catch the world champion out, but Finucane was unstoppable and stormed to two straight wins to secure the bronze medal.

Speaking after her medal winning ride, Finucane said:

“Honestly this whole week has been a rollercoaster of emotions. I’m really, really proud of what I did today. After the keirin, the sprint days were the hardest on the bike because I was just so exhausted. I took my time and went through each race. Obviously, I wanted to be out there to try and win gold but the bronze medal, I just gave it everything and I’m so proud of myself. My family has been here through the highs and lows of this week. I’ve cried, I’ve had happy tears, and I just can’t thank everyone enough for getting me here. I’m exhausted! This has meant everything to me.”

Sophie Capewell won the fifth to eighth final, soaring to victory after a fantastic turn of speed to end an incredible Olympic debut.

Men’s keirin

Jack Carlin finished fourth in the men’s keirin, dominating every race in the lead up before an unfortunate crash in the final saw him just miss out on another podium.

In the first heat of the quarter-finals, Carlin lined up in first position behind the derny. With a lap to go, he looked to be boxed in and in a risky position for the top four qualification spots, but a huge turn of speed out of the final bend saw him take the win.

A brilliant ride from Hamish Turnbull also saw him secure his place in the semi-final, finishing second behind Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands). Unfortunately, Turnbull’s semi-final ride saw him unable to progress to the final after a late crash, placing him in 11th on his Olympic debut.

Carlin’s semi-final saw Sam Dakin (New Zealand) make the first move to the front, with the Scottish rider straight on his wheel. As they took the bell, Carlin kicked to edge round and rode away, winning by a huge margin to enter the final with ease.

Lining up in fourth in a stacked final, a cagey start saw all the riders looking at each other as the derny exited the track. Matthew Glaetzer (Australia) was the first to bite, storming to the front with Lavreysen just on his wheel. As the riders stormed round the final lap, Carlin was moving up with his signature fast finish, before a crash on the home straight knocked him out of contention. Despite not finishing, Carlin finished fourth in the overall standings.

Women’s omnium

Neah Evans recovered from an early crash in the women's omnium to finish 15th overall.

A cagey 30-lap scratch race saw the peloton stay together for most of the race, with Evans watching her rivals carefully. The pace began to ramp up in the final six laps as Anita Stenberg (Norway), Ally Wollaston (New Zealand) and Jennifer Valente (USA) hit the front. A frantic finish saw the peloton bunch together at a high speed, and Evans was left with nowhere to go, crashing in the final bend. Luckily, the British rider came away unscathed and was able to race on.

The tempo race saw Valente attack off the front with Georgia Baker (Australia) and Daria Pikulik (Poland) in the first big move of the race at the halfway point. As the chase ensued behind, the peloton split in two, with Evans attempting to move across with 10 laps to go. As the Scottish rider battled in no man’s land, the front three continued to sweep up the points. Evans was caught by the peloton in the closing two laps and finished in the bunch.

The elimination race saw a risky start for Evans, sitting near the back of the bunch. Learning her lesson, Evans launched forward and made it to the front, dropping onto the black line. Evans found herself boxed in as the peloton moved over the top of her and was edged out in 17th place.

The final points race saw Evans gain a lap with a group of seven, before Yumi Kajihara (Japan) went off the front. Evans followed suit in an attempt to gain another 20 points, but was caught by the peloton. With 20 laps remaining, attacks continued to go off the front, with Evans going again with just 12 laps to go. Within reaching distance of the bunch, Evans continued to drive but wasn’t able to make the lap gain. Luckily, the Scottish rider crossed the finish line first to win the 10 point bonus, finishing her omnium in 15th place.

Evans said:

“The points race pretty much summed up my day beautifully - trying really hard and getting really close but just not quite able to capitalise on it and that's just how the day has gone to be honest. I got taken out in a crash in the scratch and in the omnium, it just puts you in such a deficit and it's so much work to get back. I was pretty unlucky in the tempo as I went in with a strong plan and I nailed it but had nothing to show for it. The points was a proper chaotic race. I managed to get one lap and I had a couple of attempts the second time but I just couldn't quite close the gap.

"It could have gone differently and I could have had such a different result. I've tried to enjoy it as much as I can as it's still pretty cool to be at an Olympics and racing here. I'm just disappointed to not capitalise and do a result I'm capable of. I've said I'll be back for worlds later in the year and hopefully things will go more to plan.”

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games saw the Team GB cyclists achieve an incredible 11 medals in total, with two gold, five silver and four bronze.

Speaking on the achievement, Performance Director Stephen Park said:

“It is emotional. Your mind immediately turns to Los Angeles, our next Games, but we have to take a moment to enjoy what's been a fantastic Paris 2024 Olympic Games. From a cycling team perspective, 30 riders, 16 first time Olympians and nine new Olympic medallists and the first woman to win three medals in any one Games for over 60 years. We won Team GB's 1000th medal and we've had some fantastic moments, whether that's Tom Pidcock on the mountain bike, the silver in the women's time-trial, or the win in the women's team sprint. Emma Finucane getting three medals here is fantastic. 

“It's been a successful event for us. Hopefully those performances have helped inspire future generations and inspire people to continue to join British Cycling, support the National Lottery and to support the future generations of young riders to give them these great opportunities. 

“One of the things we've been really trying to focus on is to make sure we have that spread and support for riders in different disciplines. We're the only nation that has been competitive in every single event and we've had some great performances in every single event. This is the first time we've had people competitive in all four of the road events and we were fantastic on the mountain bike and fantastic on the BMX, both freestyle and racing. It's been fantastic all the way through the event for every single discipline. There's something for everyone and something for the future.”