Paris Olympic Games 2024: Team GB's Anna Henderson on 'rough' journey to ‘super surreal’ silver in individual time trial

Anna Henderson said she had to "rewire her brain" and "train how to be a cyclist" just 10 years before she stormed to a silver medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Henderson came second to Grace Brown in the individual time trial on Saturday to claim Great Britain's second medal of the Games. “I had a dream that maybe if all the stars aligned I could make the podium," she told Eurosport.

'Taken 10 years to come to this moment' - Henderson had to 'rewire her brain' for cycling switch

Video credit: TNT Sports

Anna Henderson claimed Great Britain’s second medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris when she won silver in the women’s individual time trial on Saturday.

The 25-year-old said she “burst into tears” after it was confirmed she had finished second behind Australia’s Grace Brown and ahead of bronze medalist Chloe Dygert with a time of 41:09:83.

Her accolade in her debut Games comes 10 years after she decided to take up cycling following a leg break while skiing at 15 years old, an injury which forced her to give up the sport.

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“I changed to cycling because I had an injury and I couldn’t go downhill anymore,” Henderson told Europort on Sunday, reflecting on her journey to Olympic success.

“I had to rewire my brain and train how to be a cyclist. It’s taken 10 years to come to this moment.”

The weather was unkind to cyclists in the French capital on Saturday, with riders slipping and sliding throughout the wet city streets.

Watch as Henderson produces ‘huge ride’ to seal supreme ITT silver

Video credit: TNT Sports

Eurosport expert Jo Rowell asked Henderson if her skiing experience helped in the dangerous conditions during Saturday’s race.

“Maybe it does help subconsciously,” she replied. “But right now I don’t think it does, I was just so focussed on the plan yesterday.

“None of it really got to me because I was so nervous and focussed on doing my plan and the strategy and the plan that me and the team had made together.

“I kind of knew we’d adapted the plan a little bit for the weather and then I just had to go out there and do it. We just really focussed on controlling the corners.

“You really feel stupid when you’re on a 28, 29 millimetre tyre and you’re trying to go around slippery city roads.

“I didn’t actually realise how bad the weather conditions were until I finished and I realised a lot of the girls had problems and then I watched the guys race and every corner I was [nervous].

“Then I realised what my team must have felt like in the car, and how my family must have felt watching. And I thought, ‘OK, I’m glad I’m done now and I can hold [my medal] upright'.

“I had one scare like five kilometres in, and I thought, ‘No, no, no. You’re not going to waste this form, hard work. You can lose a whole Olympic Games in one corner. But you can gain everything everywhere else'.”

Henderson revelled in her success, which she said was “super surreal” after a tricky year in the lead-up to Paris 2024.

She broke her collarbone in February and during the La Vuelta Femenina, she broke it again to cast her Olympic dream into doubt.

“It’s been a super surreal feeling, even to come to Paris was surreal,” she explained on Eurosport.

“You’re watching all these people on TV and then you’re in the same team and then to medal, it’s [surreal].

“I had a dream that maybe if all the stars aligned I could make the podium, like the bronze medal, but silver I thought, ‘Woah, I’ve really outdone myself here’. Especially [finishing] behind someone like Grace Brown, who is an unreal athlete.

Anna Henderson, Great Britain, 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Grace Brown, Australia

Image credit: Getty Images

“It’s been a really rough year, I had two broken collarbones and then I was sick a month ago and I thought, ‘This is really not my year’. I can’t believe it.

“But I worked hard, kept the motivation to come to Paris, it was my big goal all year. I can’t believe I’m sat here talking to you, to be honest.”

Henderson goes again on Sunday, August 4 when she competes in the women's road race.

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