Emma Finucane creates history with third medal in Paris Olympics

Emma Finucane has created history by winning bronze in the individual sprint to take her third medal of Paris 2024.

The 21-year-old hailing from Carmarthen, the reigning world champion in this event, needed only two races to beat Dutch rider Hetty van de Wouw in a best of three format.

Bronze sees Finucane become the first British woman to win three medals in a single Games since swimmer Joyce Cooper earned a silver and two bronzes at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.

But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. She openly admitted that before that final in Glasgow, she found herself sitting in a toilet stall crying as the pressure became too much.

But she composed herself, went out onto the track, and achieved greatness.

The victory meant that for the 12 months that followed, Finucane would race in the coveted rainbow jersey, which brings a pressure that can weigh heavy on young shoulders.

"Racing in the rainbows has been really hard for me," she had told ITV Cymru Wales.

"I guess people don't talk about it a lot and until you experience that you don't actually know how it feels. I’ve been speaking to my psychologist a lot and my coach. For me, speaking about it really helps.

"And I wish someone had given me a book after the Worlds and said 'this is what you need to do and this is what’s going to happen' because you just don’t know.

"That’s been really hard for me and the people from the outside don’t actually see that.

"I didn’t think racing in the rainbows would affect me a lot, but it did."

In January, Finucane became Britain’s first female European sprint champion.

The win validated her success at the Worlds and proved she belonged at the top.

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