Sisterhood on and off the track for Finucane and Shriever
“She’s a huge role model for me,” said Finucane of Shriever. “She’s taught me so much, like, how to be an athlete and just little things about, ‘Emma off the bike.’ Like I need to be happy and that will help me channel my ‘Emma on the bike.’
“I’ve really looked up to her and she’s like taking me under her wing … and for her to be one of my best friends, Olympic champion, and supporting me in Paris is going to be crazy.”
Finucane had quite the breakout year in 2023, becoming Britain’s first world champion in women’s sprint in a decade.
Not since Victoria Pendleton, who won six world sprint titles during her time, and Becky James, who was the last Brit to win gold in the event, in 2013, have the Brits had a world champion. This bodes well for the strength of Team GB when it comes to track cycling at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome from 5-11 August.
“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,” Finucane said.
“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.”
But now it’s Finucane’s turn in the spotlight, and she’s ready for it, with a little help from her Olympic gold medal-winning friend.
“She’s always got my best interests at heart, and I hope I do with her, too,” said a smiling Finucane. “Because she’s had so much success and I’ve had some, I can understand how she feels and she understands, like when I’m wearing that world jersey, she’s like, you will feel pressure, you will feel nervous. She’s been through that, and she’s had the highs and lows of winning and losing. So have I. So it’s priceless, all the knowledge I gain from her, and yeah, it’s been amazing to see the journey we’ve been on and for both of us going to Paris is going to be special.”
Ahead of her friend’s race on Friday, when she’ll be safely ensconced in the Olympic Village, having travelled to France’s capital the day before, Finucane knows exactly what she’ll say to her friend: “I will be telling her to enjoy it, that I love her and I’m proud of her no matter what she does on the track, and so are her family and friends. And I’ll be telling her that 10-year-old Beth is proud no matter what you do.”
Pretty sure Shriever will be saying “right back ‘atcha” a few days later.
Source link : https://olympics.com/en/news/paris-2024-cycling-team-gb-finucane-shriever-friendship
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Publish date : 2024-08-02 18:54:23
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