A family affair: Team GB women's sprint trio make 'memories that will last forever' with gold at Paris Olympics

In the seconds after they won the women’s team sprint Olympic title, Emma Finucane, Sophie Capewell and Katy Marchant posted up separately along the back straight, a bike length apart from each other, and bowed over their handlebars in exhaustion. 

They had had to break the world record three times to win in Paris. In beating New Zealand in the final, they became Team GB's first-ever medal winners in the event, one which the team hasn't qualified for since London 2012.  

The trio looked immediately for their families in the swell of the glory. When they found them, they fell over the barriers in unison, still straddling their bikes, and into the arms of their loved ones. 

The scene was a sea of Union Jacks. At least 30 British flags rippled around the winners, many of which, it appeared, belonged to Finucane's family. 

"There's like 10 of them," the Welshwoman smiled afterwards. "My family came from Carmarthen in a camper van to support me. Having all of our families here, because it's closer to home, was really special.

"I actually went up to my dad, and he suffocated me. He was hugging me and I was like, 'I can't breathe!' You will remember moments like that forever. We'll always cherish this moment."

As the trio prepared themselves for the medal ceremony, wide-eyed and taking deep breaths of the humid air, the big screens cut to Finucane's family in the stand. "This is one of the best days of my life," her younger brother, Sean, said into the microphone. Her sister, Rosie, stood beside him in floods of tears. 

"To cross that finish line, having everyone here supporting us from Great Britain is really special," Finucane said, looking across at her teammates. "Katy has Arthur, and you [Sophie] have your family here, and they couldn't be more proud of us."

Arthur, Marchant's two-year-old son, stood perched on the track railing as his mother received her first Olympic gold medal. "He was cheering," she said. "I think he was a bit overwhelmed by everything, as we were, to be honest."

In the curtailed three-year cycle between Tokyo and Paris, Marchant spent 18 months away from racing to give birth to Arthur. She doubted whether she'd ride at another Olympics, but it was the desire to do so that got her into the best form of her life. With a gold medal around her neck, the 31-year-old walked through the track centre in Paris, holding her son over her shoulder. 

"He's a key member of our team, and a huge part of my journey as well, so it's really special," she said. "He popped up in my hotel yesterday. I didn't want the first time I saw him to be in the stands, or I'd be sobbing my heart out, so we needed to get that out of the way. But every time I looked up today, I saw him, so it just makes it even more special. The memories will last forever."

For Capewell, the winning moment, and the celebrations afterwards, were "different level". Victorious, she rode around the track with a British flag, given to her by her mother, Debbie, who had been sitting trackside wearing a Union Jack bucket hat. 

Capewell's father, Nigel, died in 2021. He was a two-time Paralympian, having competed in Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, and later a well-loved cycling coach, a friendly face around the velodrome. 

Prior to the Games, the 25-year-old said that even though her father wouldn't be in Paris, she would still "share" her Olympic moment with him. "My dad always told me never to just aim for bronze because that's what he did and he got fourth," she said. 

Now, Capewell's a gold medallist, alongside Finucane and Marchant, GB's first women's sprint Olympic champions. "I think this is the start of a hopefully great week for us," Marchant said. Their families, no doubt, will be beside them for it all.