Olympics 2024: Anna Henderson wins silver for Team GB
Great Britain's Anna Henderson has won a cycle road time trial silver medal on her Olympic debut in Paris.
The 25-year-old, who has suffered two broken collarbones this season, edged out third-placed American Chloe Dygert by less than one second.
In damp, treacherous conditions that found out several riders, Henderson clocked a time of 41 minutes 10.7 seconds over the 32.4km course through the centre of Paris, one minute 31 seconds down on Australian Grace Brown’s gold medal-winning ride.
The 25-year-old said she "couldn't believe" she had won the medal.
"I had a small feeling I could make the podium today and squeeze out some of the other riders, but I can't believe I've come second behind someone like Grace.
"I burst into tears when I found out I was second. I just can't stop smiling.
"It was a bit confusing because the TV was really far behind and then I couldn’t see the board here.
"I knew I had a medal which was an amazing thing in itself, then it was whether it was silver or bronze.
"Last year, I was two seconds from the bronze at Worlds, so I’m really happy to be on the right side of the seconds this time. So I'm really proud."
The rain that marred Friday’s opening ceremony continued well into Saturday, leaving nasty conditions on a route that set off from the Esplanade des Invalides and then went east before doubling back to the Pont Alexandre III in front of the Grand Palais.
Several riders crashed, with American Taylor Knibb hitting the deck three times – even her mechanic fell over trying to give her a new bike – but Henderson was able to keep everything neat and tidy to secure the most notable result of her career to date.
“I didn’t realise how slippery it was out there until I was on the course…..I thought I can lose a whole Olympic Games on one corner here, so really take control and you gain all the good time on the straights,” Henderson said.
“So I really took control, my coach (Chris Newton) did a really good job to keep me calm all the way through and really keep me pushing until the end. Last year I was two seconds from the bronze at Worlds so I’m really happy to be on the right side of the seconds this time.”
The Hemel Hempstead-born rider came to Paris as an obvious contender for a medal but one happy to stay under the radar after a start to the season which saw her break her collarbone twice, most recently in April, before winning a second British time trial title in June.
“I was pretty much on my bike three days after the surgery (in April),” she said. “The second (broken collarbone) mentally hurt a lot and it got a lot to get back the motivation again but I always had Paris on my mind and that really carried me through.
“I can’t stop mentioning the people around me that also got me through. Yeah, really happy, really proud and thankful.”
The two-time British national time trial champion finished fourth in last year’s world championships before going on to take silver at the Euros.
On both occasions she was within a second or two of Christina Schweinberger – who beat her to bronze in Glasgow but had to settle for third place in Drenthe. But in Paris the Austrian was well off the pace, finishing down in 10th place.
The Hemel Hempstead-born Henderson was a junior national slalom champion who once dreamed of competing at a Winter Olympics, but her debut at a summer Games will be considered a massive success.
It's the second Team GB medal, after diving duo Yasmin Harper and her teammate Scarlett Mew Jensen made history with the first GB women’s diving medal in 64 years.
The pair claimed bronze in a dramatic women’s three-metre synchronised springboard final on Saturday.
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