Emma Finucane exclusive: Team Great Britain rider eyes 'dream' triple gold at 2024 Paris Olympic Games
Published 26/07/2024 at 09:09 GMT+1
Emma Finucane has said she will have "no words" if she makes history by winning three gold medals at the Paris Olympics this summer, something she has "dreamed of since I was a little girl". The Carmarthen-born Team GB rider will compete in the keirin, team sprint and individual sprint events in the French capital, and has been tipped by cycling royalty Laura Kenny to take gold in all three.
Finucane makes history by becoming GB's first ever women's sprint European champion
Video credit: TNT Sports
Emma Finucane is eyeing three gold medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, an outcome she is intensely focused on, but one for which she will have "no words" if it becomes a reality.
The Team GB rider is placing importance on enjoying the journey to and during the Olympics, but insists she is not there "just be a part of the field".
Carmarthen-born Finucane will take part in the keirin, team sprint and individual sprint in Paris this summer. The latter of the three saw her become the fastest woman on two wheels as she took the individual sprint world title last year in Glasgow.
"I'm planning to do all three events. I don't want to shy away from that, I do want to go there and win three Olympic gold medals, and that's something I've dreamed of since I was a little girl," the 21-year-old told Eurosport in an exclusive interview.
"Winning three gold medals, I would have no words if that happened."
Finucane recently played down talk of her winning three gold medals, branding it as just noise as she attempted to maintain a realistic outlook.
But at 21, Finucane is a rider with experience far beyond her years after bursting onto the scene in 2023, and with that comes a fearlessness in the Welsh rider – a fearlessness that may just be waking up as her moment as the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome edges nearer.
"I don't want to just be a part of the field, I want to be up there pushing my limits, pushing my boundaries, seeing what I can do on my bike," she added.
"As long as the preparation is right, the journey, I've enjoyed it and I've had fun. I go out there on my bike and I show the world what I can do and I dance around that track.
"Success for me would look like that but also if not, enjoying the journey and being an Olympian is success in itself for me."
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Earlier this year Dame Laura Kenny, Britain's most successful female Olympian, announced her retirement from cycling. As she did, she figuratively passed the torch to Finucane, tipping her to make history in Paris this summer.
With such a stellar endorsement, it is wholly impressive and yet unsurprising that Finucane can keep her feet on the ground.
"Win or lose, I'm proud of who I am and the values that I have, and that's something I really hold on to," she said. "Win or lose, I'm happy with the process, the journey and how I've got there. I think that's why I have success.
"I guess success for me in Paris is holding onto my values. I really want to enjoy the process and make memories with my team-mates and friends.
"Success is outcome-driven and I think if I get everything right in the lead-up, the outcomes will take care of themselves.
"Obviously I've watched myself ride, I analyse races and I think for me, I like to use the word 'dance'. I love to dance around the track, use the track and make moves.
"I'm not the most aggressive person on the track but I think I use my super strengths and the strengths that I need to win a bike race and that's kind of what I stick to.
"I don't really stare at other riders, I don't really do all of that. And I think maybe people respect that. I just do me and I focus on myself and I think that's how I roll in the cycling world."
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BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JUNE 24: (L-R) Lowri Thomas, Katie Marchant, Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell during the Team GB Paris 2024 Kitting Out at NEC Arena on June 24, 2024 in Birmingham, England.(Photo by Barrington Coombs/Getty Images)
Image credit: Getty Images
Taking the attention off herself, Finucane paid tribute to the long list of people who have helped her get to the Games, including coach Scott Pollock and everyone from doctors to nutritionists and her family.
"There's so much more to the team than yourself and I think that's why when you have success, it is the team's success," she said. "Yes, it's you crossing the line, but I can't do what I've done without my team-mates.
"My family, my friends, they're all part of my team and I think that makes everything even more special when you do win."
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
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