Meet Bethany Shriever, Team GB BMX whizz looking to defend Olympic title despite breaking her collarbone two months ago

BETHANY SHRIEVER is looking to defend her BMX title at Paris 2024 despite breaking her collarbone two months ago.

The 25-year-old was a surprise gold medallist at Tokyo 2020 after beating her own idol and two-time champion Mariana Pajon.

AFP

Who is Bethany Shriever?

Shriever was born in Leytonstone on April 19, 1999.

The East Londoner began BMX when she was eight-years-old.

And won silver at the 2016 BMX European Cycling Championships and became the Junior World Champion in 2017.

Shriever was chosen to be part of Great Britain’s 26-strong cycling squad at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she won the Women’s BMX racing gold medal.

Since then, she’s added both World and European titles to her collection and was awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Year honours.

But in mid-May, she suffered a collarbone fracture while leading the British team at the BMX World Championships in May, but she’s still fighting to defend her title in Paris.

She said: “Not many people know but four months out of Tokyo I dislocated my shoulder so I have been in this situation before.

“My prep has gone really well, I have got an amazing team around me who have been helping me with that.

“I think it is a bit of a blessing in disguise, not fully being obsessed with the Games, I am focussing on the here and now, week by week getting better and focussing on getting stronger and fitter.

“I can’t believe how quick I have been recovering from it all.

“I am going in with the mentality of I am not necessarily defending it because I will always have that gold medal to my name now, I will always be a gold medallist. It is a clean slate in Paris, it’s anyone’s game.

“If I look at it in that way, it does take the pressure off quite a bit.

“You have got to be open-minded to view it in different ways because otherwise, the pressure can just consume you and then it doesn’t go well.

Will Bethany Shriever be competing in the Paris Olympics?

Yes, Shriever will be competing in the Paris Olympics.

She will represent Team GB in the BMX Racing – like she did in 2021 when she secured gold.

When will Bethany Shriever be competing in the Paris Olympics?

The Games officially kicks off on Friday, July 26 and culminates on Sunday, August 11.

But the BMX Racing gets underway on Thursday, August 1.

The final then follows the next day.