Finucane vows to return stronger after missing gold

Emma Finucane, 23, said she will “come back fighting” after finishing just outside the podium’s top step for the third time at the Track Cycling World Championships in Shanghai. The British rider settled for bronze in the keirin on Sunday, edged out at the line by neutral athlete Alina Lysenko and Germany’s Lea Friedrich. The margin was a razor‑thin 0.014 seconds, adding a bronze to the silver medals she earned in the team sprint and individual sprint, events won by Chinese cyclists.

Finucane, a member of the British team that claimed gold in the women’s team sprint at the Paris 2024 Olympics, said retaining that title in Los Angeles is her primary goal. “To medal in all three races at the world champs, I’d never done that before,” she told BBC Sport. “The confidence I have gained this week and the way I’ve been riding my bike, I can take that into the years to come. I’m actually really proud. I am frustrated not to be on the top step but I’ll come back fighting. You can beat yourself up about races but I am learning all the time. Ultimately we are learning for the Olympics, that’s a huge goal. I put myself in winning positions in every race and that’s something I am proud of.”

Finucane also won bronze in both the individual sprint and keirin at the Paris Games, and she captured Britain’s first Olympic gold in the women’s team sprint alongside Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell. In Shanghai, Rhianna Parris‑Smith stepped in for the newly retired Marchant, but the British trio were beaten by China’s Jiang Yulu, Tong Mengqi and Yuan Liying.

Looking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Finucane highlighted the depth of talent within the British squad. “We won the team sprint in Paris which is one of the best moments of my life and there are ten girls back at home fighting to be in the team. That’s how we progress, and we will build on the momentum of this silver medal. Internal competition is how we win bike races. World records keep falling, we are pushing each other and it’s really exciting.”

Great Britain finished the championships atop the medal table with twelve medals, including a trio of golds earned by Anna Morris.