Finucane vows to fight on after narrow keirin defeat

Emma Finucane says she will “come back fighting” after taking bronze in the keirin at the Track Cycling World Championships in Shanghai, narrowly missing gold for the third time at the championships.

The 23-year-old led into the home straight on Sunday but was beaten to the line by neutral athlete Alina Lysenko and Germany’s Lea Friedrich. Finucane finished 14 thousandths of a second off the top spot.

Her keirin bronze followed silver medals in the team sprint and individual sprint, both won by Chinese riders. It was the first time she had medalled in all three events at a world championships, she told BBC Sport. “I put myself in winning positions in every race and that’s something I am proud of,” she said, while acknowledging her frustration at missing gold. [1]

Finucane won team sprint gold for Great Britain at the Paris Olympics in 2024, alongside Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell. She said retaining the title at the 2028 Los Angeles Games was a major goal. Marchant has since retired; Rhianna Parris-Smith took her place in the British team in Shanghai, where China won the event.

Finucane said competition within the British squad would help the team build towards Los Angeles, adding that she was proud of the confidence she had gained in Shanghai. Great Britain finished top of the championships’ medal table with 12 medals, including three golds for Anna Morris. [1]