WE’RE ON A ROLL!
Team GB’s magic medal day
SHE started her BMX journey on a £150 second-hand bike and had to crowdfund while working parttime as a teaching assistant to compete in Tokyo.
But Bethany Shriever battled against the odds to scoop gold yesterday – just months after a dislocated shoulder left her needing extensive rehab and surgery.
The 22-year-old’s spectacular victory came moments after teammate Kye Whyte claimed silver in the men’s event to become Britain’s first medallists in BMX racing since it was introduced to the Olympic roster in 2008.
In heartwarming scenes, 21-year-old Whyte, nicknamed the ‘Prince of Peckham’ after the area of south London where he grew up, was seen passionately cheering on Shriever at the finish line before scooping her in his arms.
Shriever, from Finchingfield, Essex, who collapsed on the track after finishing 0.09 seconds ahead of two-time defending champion Mariana Pajon of Colombia, said: ‘I’m in shock. To even be here is an achievement in itself. To make the final is an achievement in itself.
‘To win a medal – honestly I’m so over the moon. It just means so much.’
Whyte, who has also fought back from serious injury, said: ‘It’s a crazy achievement. This was made in Peckham. It’s been a long time coming.
‘I’m more happy for [Shriever] than I am for me, that girl puts in some serious graft. She’s a great girl and she deserves that gold medal because her skills are unbelievable.’ The pair first met on the youth talent teams when they were about 12 before becoming training partners in Manchester.
Shriever’s triumph came after a series of devastating setbacks which saw her trying to raise £50,000 to enable her to compete in Tokyo, following a decision by
UK Sport to withdraw funding for women. She fundraised £30,000 while working as a teaching assistant to three and four-year-olds at a primary school in Essex before British Cycling eventually stepped in to help.
Shriever, the only elite female BMX rider in the UK, has also suffered multiple leg breaks, broken her wrist three times and dislocated her knee, elbow, shoulder and pelvis.
She could not compete for 18 months due to the pandemic and did not know she was going to Tokyo until four weeks ago.
Yesterday her delighted parents
Kate, 51, and Paul, 52, told how they stayed up all night with her brothers Noah, 20, and Luke, 18, to watch her historic win from their Essex home.
Mr Shriever, a video editor who grew up riding BMXs in the 1980s, said: ‘It was so tense, I’ve felt sick all week.‘It has been a bit overwhelming and a rollercoaster, and to even mention the word Olympics and go as far as she has gone is mind-blowing. It’ll take us some time to get over it, if we ever do.’
Mrs Shriever, a school office manager, added: ‘Beth has always
had a dream from an early age that she would go to the Olympics and we always aimed to go to Tokyo.
‘She only got the phone call that she could race in June, literally four weeks ago, we didn’t know if she could go – it was so up in the air.’
In south London, Whyte’s parents Nigel, 51, and Tracey, 48, gathered with 50 friends and family at the Peckham BMX Club where he trained. They watched him cross the line just 0.114 seconds behind Dutch rider Niek Kimmann.
Mr Whyte, who has been a coach at the club since it opened eight years ago, said: ‘We are tired and overwhelmed because we have been up for 48 hours straight but I am buzzing inside. I am really happy and proud at what he has achieved.
‘His success means so much to the local community because he’s a little boy from Peckham who has made history.’
His mother, who worked as a secretary at the club, added: ‘He was three years old when he first got on a bike and I always knew he was going to do something special.
‘It’s taken a couple of years to get here and he has had to sacrifice a lot and give up his family for this. He has had to dedicate everything to this.’