Australian cyclist Grace Brown clinched the gold medal in the women’s individual time trial at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday, July 27, delivering a dominant performance on a rain-soaked course. Brown, 32, completed the challenging 32.4km route in an impressive time of 39 minutes and 38.24 seconds, finishing a staggering 1 minute and 31 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.The wet conditions transformed parts of the course, including the iconic Pont Alexandre III, into what some described as a ‘skating rink,’ leading to numerous crashes and falls among the competitors. Despite these treacherous conditions, Brown navigated the course with skill and determination, avoiding the pitfalls that befell many of her rivals.Anna Henderson of Great Britain secured the silver medal with a time of 41 minutes and 9.83 seconds, while American Chloe Dygert, the reigning world champion and one of the pre-race favorites, claimed bronze despite suffering a hard crash on a left-hand turn. Dygert’s resilience was evident as she finished just 0.87 seconds behind Henderson, with a time of 41 minutes and 10.7 seconds.The challenging conditions affected many riders, with American Taylor Knibb falling three times and finishing with bloody knees. French cyclist Juliette Labous narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth just 9.20 seconds behind Dygert.This victory marks Brown’s first Olympic medal, a significant achievement following her near-miss in Tokyo 2020 where she finished just seven seconds off the podium. Brown, who rides for the Fdj Suez team, had previously announced that this would be her final Olympics, making the gold medal a fitting capstone to her illustrious career.
Key points
- Australian cyclist Grace Brown won gold in the women’s individual time trial at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
- Brown dominated the race, finishing over 90 seconds ahead of her closest competitor despite challenging, wet conditions.
- Chloe Dygert, the reigning world champion, crashed during the race but still managed to secure the bronze medal.
- This victory marks Brown’s first Olympic medal, following a near-miss in Tokyo 2020.
Contradictions👾There is a slight discrepancy in the reported time difference between Brown and the silver medalist.
Some sources report it as ‘over 90 seconds’, while others give a more precise ‘1 minute and 31 seconds’.
This minor difference doesn’t significantly impact the overall story.
