‘An incredible lift’: Australian cyclists complete best Olympics in 20 years

Australia has completed its best Olympic campaign in cycling since 2004, winning eight medals across four disciplines at the Paris 2024 Games.

The Australian Cycling Team bookended its Olympic journey with a complete set of medals. It began two weeks ago on the streets of Paris with gold in the time trial and finished last night on the velodrome with silver and bronze in the keirin.

All told, the medal haul stands at three gold, two silver and three bronze. Each result tells a story.

Grace Brown, whose “goal was to win”, delivered a career-defining victory on the cusp of retirement.

Saya Sakakibara, who brought the nation to tears when she snared an emotional BMX Racing crown.

Bleddyn, Leahy, O’Brien and Welsford, who banished the demons of Tokyo to dominate the team pursuit and carve more than a second off the world record.

And more: Natalya Diehm making history for women’s BMX Freestyle; Matt Richardson rising to the occasion; Matthew Glaetzer getting his long-awaited podium moments; Leigh Hoffman powering the team sprint to bronze.

Jared C Tilton / Getty Images

Paris 2024 represents Australian cycling’s most successful Olympic campaign since Athens, and its second-best haul in Olympic history.

“Any medal is exceptional, but to come away with three golds is incredible,” said Jesse Korf, AusCycling’s Executive General Manager of Performance.

“I think what’s also interesting at these Olympics, is looking at the spread of medals. In Tokyo, the Brits were still super dominant and the Dutchies joined them. And now it seems like we’ve been able to rejoin that group of superpowers in cycling, which is incredibly encouraging and exciting.”

Korf noted that medals were not the only benchmark of success, paying tribute to how the Australian Cycling Team conducted themselves as a whole.

“Everybody has their own dreams, their own goals, a lot of individual campaigns. The team, and accumulated success, does not happen without all those individual journeys.

“I think from the team perspective, how the team pulled together, how the athletes were, and the culture that we had and continue to build on – it’s been an incredible lift, and I’m super proud of the group, athletes and staff alike. They’ve been incredible.

Anne-Christine Poujoulat / Getty Images

“You can never predict a gold medal. You can have athletes that are capable of medalling. And when everything comes together, the environment is right, they’re absolutely on it – some convert and some don’t, which is exactly what happened in these past two weeks.”

The cycling disciplines helped propel Australia to fourth overall on the medal tally with 18 gold: the nation’s best result in Olympic history.

“This is a special team,” said Anna Meares, two-time Olympic gold medallist and chef de mission for the Australian Olympic Team. “We all know it’s hard to be selected on the Australian team, let alone win a medal or become an Olympic champion. It takes dedication to excellence over years, not just here in Paris. So, to the member sports, thank you and to the athletes, we are very proud of you.

“For every medal, personal best or other achievement, there is also disappointment for those who did not achieve the goals they had set for themselves.

“We support all our athletes and are proud of every athlete’s effort to make this team and put themselves out there on the world’s biggest sporting stage.”

Australia's cycling medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Gold
🥇 Grace Brown - Women's Individual Time Trial
🥇 Saya Sakakibara - Women's BMX Racing
🥇 Oliver Bleddyn, Conor Leahy, Kelland O'Brien, Sam Welsford – Men's Team Pursuit

Silver
🥈 Matthew Richardson – Men's Sprint
🥈 Matthew Richardson – Men's Keirin

Bronze
🥉 Natalya Diehm – Women's BMX Freestyle Park
🥉 Matthew Glaetzer, Leigh Hoffman, Matthew Richardson – Men's Team Sprint
🥉 Matthew Glaetzer – Men's Keirin

Catch up on the Australian Cycling Team’s campaign by visiting the AusCycling Olympics Hub.

Feature photo: Tim de Waele / Getty Images