‘I gave everything. The last few laps I was in so much pain’ – 10th for Gillespie after brave display
Gillespie James Lara Final Crombie/inpho The Before Ireland’s Race Pic:
This is where we are at. Lara Gillespie was deeply disappointed at a top-ten finish in the Omnium at the Paris Olympics despite the fact that Ireland still does not have an indoor velodrome.
The bar has been raised. An awesome generation of talented athletes are primed to thrive. Time now to ensure they have the support necessary to make it happen. It was a dramatic morning at the national velodrome in France as Enniskerry’s Gillespie faded in the final event.
American Jennifer Valente won gold, Poland's Daria Pikulik amassed a remarkable 59 points in the Points Race to take silver, New Zealand's Ally Wollastan clinched bronze.
“I gave everything there,” Gillespie said afterwards.
“The last few laps, I was in so much pain. I had a really bad pain in my stomach. You know when you can feel your voice and breath, I really gave everything to put my best foot forward and unfortunately, it didn't work out.
“I am quite disappointed, to be honest I was hoping for a top-five result here today. I am proud of how I raced. I was brave. I took chances. I made a big mistake at the start by getting such an average result in the scratch race but lots to improve on.” Gillespie entered the final round firmly in the race for bronze after winning the tempo race. In a terrific performance, the 23-year-old was the only rider to lap the field.
The Omnium is a ‘multi-event’ race which, since Rio 2016, has been reduced to four disciplines over one day. She finished ninth in the Elimination race to move to fifth overall before the final event.
“To be honest it felt really good,” she said. “I felt a bit hard done by. The Australian girl came down on me and I thought that was illegal. Then I got squeezed out and got eliminated before I had given it 100%. I wasn't at my limit there.”
That limit could be anything. In 2019, Gillespie was the first Irish woman to win a medal at World Juniors with Pursuit bronze. In 2023 she won two European U23 track titles. She was just pipped for bronze in the Omnium at this year’s senior Europeans.
She looked at the talent around her on Sunday and reckoned everyone except four competitors on the start list had medals at World, European championships or Olympics. From Orwell Wheelers to competing on the global stage. Now she wants more.
A crucial part of that will be the National Velodrome and Badminton Centre. It is scheduled to be completed in 2027 and will mean track cyclists do not have to travel abroad to train.
“It will be everything really because we have such a small squad of girls, we really only have four girls at this level,” she said.
“All the other nations have ten girls who can compete for a spot. It would just bring more numbers, more competitiveness and just develop the sport. There are so many people who could be really good at the sport and can’t even access it.
“Also for us with training, when we are doing bunch race training in Majorca, it is just me and the motorbike or me and two other girls. Whereas if you’re on a big squad, you can do more race simulation stuff, get more skills, gain that confidence within training. So yeah, looking towards to future for that.”