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Beth Shriever lost her women’s Olympic BMX racing crown in stunning fashion as she finished last in Friday’s final after team-mate Kye Whyte crashed out of the men’s competition in a hugely disappointing night for Team GB.
Shriever, twice crowned world champion since she announced her talent to the world with Olympic gold in Tokyo three years ago, had bossed every round in Thursday’s qualifying and Friday’s semi-finals only for it all to go wrong in the one that mattered most.
Shriever was unable to recover from a poor start as Australian Saya Sakakibara, the only rider quicker than the Brit in qualifying, stormed through to take the title instead.
“I was just a little bit late out at the start and I paid the price for it,” Shriever said. “I got tangled up with Laura (Smulders), tried to make my way back and the race was done.”
Earlier Shriever had been blowing kisses to the crowd before blowing away the rest of the competition, winning all of her semi-final runs by several bike lengths and looking to be in fine fettle after breaking her collarbone at the world championships in May.
“I had the perfect run-in pretty much,” Shriever, 25, added. “I won everything going in and I think maybe I might have got a little bit excited, my thoughts got away from me but I can’t complain. I’ve had the best time, the absolute best time and that’s what it’s all about…
“The pressure is high, everyone’s feeling it, literally one little mistake cost me so, it is what it is.”
Shriever’s disappointment came after Tokyo silver medallist Whyte’s competition came to an abrupt end in the semi-finals.
Whyte had struggled through Thursday’s qualifiers, revealing he was suffering with a back injury.
The 24-year-old said then the pain was making him nervous of crashing, but that was exactly the fate that befell him in the second heat of his semi-final as he lost control just 75 metres in and hit the dirt hard, falling on his right side.
Whyte, who had finished fifth in his first heat, stayed down and received treatment on the track before being taken away on a stretcher but was moving, and could be seen removing his glove.
It continues a horrible run of crashes that have hit Whyte since that glorious day in Tokyo, with the Londoner having broken both shoulders and knocked himself out in a punishing period since he took European gold and world championship silver in 2022.
Team GB said Whyte had suffered “no significant injuries” this time, but he did not return for the final heat of the semi-final with his chances over.
Shriever had consoled her close friend in the paddock before racing her own final.
“I know he was gutted…but he wasn’t hurt, he was just upset so I gave him a hug and then had to try and get my job done, so he’s good,” Shriever said.
“I just said it doesn’t matter, you’ve got your friends and family, they love you no matter what so nothing changes, literally nothing changes so that’s it.”
In front of the watching French president Emmanuel Macron, France took a superb 1-2-3 in the men’s final as Joris Daudet won from team-mates Sylvain Andre and Romain Mahieu to the delight of the crowd in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
