BBC Wales at the Olympics

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Emma Finucane continues to ease her way through the rounds of the women's sprint.

The 21-year-old beat Steffie van der Peet of the Netherlands to reach the next stage which will go at 16:00 BST on Saturday.

As the reigning sprint world champion, Finucane is hotly tipped to win a medal in the event.

The Carmarthen cyclist has already won gold in the team sprint and bronze in the keirin.

How does the sprint cycling competition work?

The competition begins with a 200m flying start (a time trial beginning with two-and-a-half build-up laps).

The quickest 24 riders qualify for the first knockout round, with their times used to establish the seeding for it.

Thereafter, the riders go head-to-head over three laps, with the fastest progressing to the next round.

It’s a knockout format, but there can be a second chance for the losing riders in a repechage.

From the quarter-finals onwards, races are best-of-three with no repechage. The medals will be decided on Sunday morning.

Elinor Barker has just made history – she is the first Welsh woman to have won four Olympic medals.

A last-gasp sprint ensured she and Scotland’s Neah Evans won silver in the madison behind Italian duo Chiara Consonni and Vittoria Guazzini, who finished six points ahead of Great Britain on 37.

Netherland finished third on 28 points.

The silver adds to the bronze Barker won in the team pursuit this week, the silver in Toyko 2021 and the gold in Rio 2016.

Speaking after the race, Barker told BBC One: “We really really wanted gold, we came in as world champions which meant we put the pressure on ourselves, we had a bit of a target on our back potentially.

“We said it wouldn’t change the way we would race, but it was hard not to really feel like we had to take responsibility for things at times, and perhaps that’s what we’ll pick up on in our analysis.

“But also, it’s an Olympic medal, there are plenty of world champions this week that haven’t medalled and every single medal is a huge achievement.

“With Neah [Evans] riding with me it means every single member across our squad has got a medal, which is awesome. We’re going to be a pretty happy group of people.”

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Former Olympic keirin champion Victoria Pendleton has outlined the importance of team GB's sprint cyclists conserving their energy.

Emma Finucane returns to the track at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome this afternoon after winning bronze in the women's keirin final.

The 21-year-old from Carmarthen is back in action for the women's individual sprint, with qualifying starting at 13:00 BST followed by the races in the last 32 and last 16. There are two further rounds on Saturday before semi-finals and final on Sunday.

"When you’re in the sprint events you have to learn how to switch off as quickly as possible, it's really important to conserve your energy," Pendleton told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"As you become more experienced in the sport you see that the guys who do well throughout the competition are the ones who manage to switch off when they can.

"The girls will know this, they’ll have a routine and understand what they need to do, wether that’s reading a book or having some time for yourself, it's all a huge part of preparing for the next event."

Welsh swimmer Hector Pardoe says he is looking forward to celebrating the end of the season with his gold-medal winning French girlfriend.

Cassandre Beaugrand won gold for the host nation in the triathlon last week, while Pardoe finished a creditable sixth for Team GB in the men's 10km marathon.

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Welsh swimmer Hector Pardoe delivered a stellar effort to claim a top-10 finish in the Men's 10km marathon swimming.

Pardoe had to pull out of this race at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago when he was elbowed in the face in the last lap which split his goggles and he was losing sight in one of his eyes.

In the River Seine he found himself in the middle of the pack and 14 seconds off the lead after the first lap.

However he improved as the gruelling near two-hour race went on, even raising hopes of a possible medal in the closing stages.

After a photo finish he was awarded sixth place by 0.1 second ahead of Frenchman Marc-Antoine Olivier.

Pardoe's time of 1 hour 50 minutes 50.8 seconds was 58 seconds behind gold winner Kristol Rasovskyz of Hungary.

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It's an early start for Welsh Olympic watchers on day 14 of the Paris Games.

Hector Pardoe will be diving into the River Seine at 06:30 BST for the men's 10km marathon swim.

Pardoe and the other open water swimmers finally got a familiarisation session for the event in the Seine on Wednesday after preparations were cancelled five times because of pollution in the river.

Welsh interest then switches to the outskirts of Paris in the afternoon with Emma Finucane returning to the track at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome.

On Thursday the 21-year-old from Carmarthen added keirin bronze to the gold she won in the women's team sprint.

World sprint champion Finucane will again be a favourite for the women's individual sprint which starts with qualifying at 13:00 BST.

She should be back for further rounds at 13:48 BST (1/32 finals) and 18:10 (1/16 finals) for the three-day event which concludes on Sunday.

Elinor Barker will also return to the velodrome looking for her second medal of the Paris Games.

The 29-year-old won bronze in the team pursuit on Wednesday - adding to the gold she won in Rio in 2016 and silver in Tokyo five years later.

Barker - only the second Welsh woman after sailor Hannah Mills to claim a hat-trick of Olympic podium positions - competes in the Madison with Neah Evans at 17:09 BST.

Finally for Friday, Cardiff sprinter Jeremiah Azu will be aiming to make up for the heartbreak of his individual 100m disqualification.

On Thursday Azu, 23, ran a strong first leg to help Great Britain qualify for the final of the 4x100m relay which is scheduled for 18:47 BST at the Stade de France.

Great Britain sprinter Emma Finucane says her keirin bronze medal feels like a gold after a nervous race in the Paris velodrome.

It was the 21-year-old's second medal on her Olympic debut, having won team pursuit gold on Monday.

She will go for a third medal in the individual sprint, with qualifying beginning on Friday.

Watch the women's keirin final at the Paris 2024 Olympics as Team GB's Emma Finucane secured bronze, with fellow teammate Katy Marchant finishing in fourth and narrowly missing out on a medal.

"My whole family they have come from Carmarthen," said Finucane, who won team gold on Monday.

"To look up at the crowds and see their faces supporting me, no matter whether I win or lose. It's about giving back to my family, race my bike with a smile on my face.

"I couldn't have given anymore and to get that bronze medal was unreal. I can't believe it.

"The sprint kicks off tomorrow [Friday] and I will see what I can do. It is my last event in the Olympics and I have nothing to lose."

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Britain's Emma Finucane has claimed a bronze medal in the women's keirin final.

It is the Welsh sprinter's second medal on her Olympic debut, having won team pursuit gold on Monday.

Ellesse Andrews of New Zealand won gold ahead of Hetty van de Wouw of the Netherlands.

Finucane's GB teammate Katy Marchant finished outside of the medals in fourth.

"Scraping through the semi I knew I had to find something in my legs that I'd never seen before," said Finucane.

"Ellesse is world champion and demonstrated today that she's so strong.

"To even be there, next to one of my best friends, Katy, was such a 'pinch me' moment and to get a bronze medal feels like gold to me because I left everything out on that track.

"If you told me a year ago I'd be coming to the Olympics and getting a gold in the team sprint and a bronze in the keirin, I would have been like 'no way', but here I am."

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Sir Chris Hoy says Emma Finucane needs to go back to basics in tonight's final of the women's keirin.

The 21-year-old GB sprinter qualified after scraping third place in the first semi-final.

Hoy said Finucane "had been untouchable in the first ride" but the semi was "a little bit more complicated."

"The key thing she has to do in the final is keep it simple, play to your strengths," Hoy said.

"She has got so much pace that when she makes the move no one can match her, but she has to use it at the right time.

"My opinion would be to launch one at about two and a half laps to go, get to the front, back off a little bit just to keep everyone behind you and then with a lap and a half to go, smash it."

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Emma Finucane has qualified for tonight's final of the women's keirin.

The Welsh sprinter launched a late charge to finish third in the first semi-final, just pipping Netherlands' Steffie Van der Peet to the line.

Finucane is going for her second gold at the Paris Games having won team sprint on Monday.

She will be joined in the final by her team mate Katy Marchant who finished second in the second semi-final.

The final is scheduled for 18:11 BST, although the velodrome timetable has been disrupted by an earlier crash.

Double Olympic gold medallist Jade Jones has spoke of her devastation after exiting the Paris Games in the first round of women's -57kg taekwondo.

Jones was beaten by North Macedonia's Miljana Reljikj in a third round tie-breaker .

The 31-year-old from Flint had set her sights on becoming the first three-time Olympic champion in the sport's history.

"I’m absolutely devastated," she told BBC Sport Wales after the bout.

"I clawed my way back to have this chance to be at my fourth Olympics, but it always comes down to the day and I didn’t have the balls and courage that it took today.

"I’m really proud of myself for having the courage to try and do something that no one has done and it’s tough, it’s mentally tough, that’s why no one has done it before.

"The more you win, the harder it gets, the more expectation and pressure. When you’re a kid you’ve got nothing to lose and you just fight.

"I’m gutted for me, my coach, my family that I didn’t show what I’ve worked so hard for, didn’t show what I was capable of in my body and mind, but it’s sport and it’s life, I couldn’t do it."

Jones' Olympic build-up had been overshadowed by the controversy of a missed drugs tests, but she was later cleared by the UK Anti-Doping Agency.

"The preparation was tough, but I was really grateful they looked into it the way they did," she added.

"The drug test came on dehydration day, I was losing the weight and kind of not in the right frame of mind.

"I got confused with it all, so I’m just so lucky that they looked into it and saw nothing was wrong and it all got sorted. It was stressful."

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Welsh track sprint cyclist Emma Finucane remains on course in her bid to win three Olympic gold medals in Paris after qualifying for the semi-finals of the women's keirin on Thursday afternoon.

After winning gold in the team sprint on Monday evening, Finucane had breezed through to the keirin quarter-finals.

Finucane finished second in her last-eight race, with the semi-final due around 17:15 BST and the final scheduled for 18:11 BST, although the velodrome timetable has been delayed by an earlier crash.

In the keirin, riders follow a pacing motorbike or electric bike called a derny, which gradually increases in speed from 30kmh to 50kmh.

Before the start of the race, riders draw lots to decide on their position behind the derny. After 750m, the derny peels off the track and a three-lap sprint begins.

Finucane has one more event with the individual sprint finals being decided on Sunday morning after qualifying races on Friday and Saturday.

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Jade Jones' dream of creating history by winning a third Olympic Games taekwondo gold medal were dashed after losing her opening bout in the women's -57kg division against Miljana Reljikj in Paris.

Jones' hopes of reaching the bronze medal bout also ended as she needed the North Macedonian Reljikj to progress to the final to secure a spot, and then be able to fight for a potential bronze medal contest.

But Jones' Olympic Games is over after Reljikj was beaten by Laetitia Aoun of Lebanon in the quarter-finals.

In Jones' bout against Reljikj the first two rounds were shared before the final round finished level 1-1.

Reljikj was named the winner by registering more hits in that third round.

Jones won gold at London 2012 and repeated that feat in Rio four years later, but was knocked out in the first round at Tokyo in 2021.

She was aiming to shrug off any lingering controversy over a missed drugs test in the build-up to Paris.

Jones' appearance at the 2024 Games had been thrown into doubt earlier this year when she was suspended pending further investigations.

She ultimately escaped sanction after being found to having committed a no-fault doping violation on confidential medical grounds.

The 31-year-old has kept a low profile since the saga, spending much of her time training in Croatia before her fourth Olympic appearance.

Jade Jones is narrowly beaten in her opening bout in the taekwondo -57kg category, meaning the best she can hope for is a bronze medal through the repechage.

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Jeremiah Azu says he will use the pain of disqualification on his Olympic debut to fuel him for the rest of this athletics career.

Azu was removed from the 100m heats after a false start, but the Cardiff sprinter ran a strong first leg to help Great Britain qualify for Friday's final of the 4x100m relay with a season's best time.

"I got another chance to come out here with the guys," Azu told BBC Sport.

"It was a shame what happened, it's track and field, we learn and we move on.

"I've still got a long career ahead of me so I'm going to use that pain to fuel me for the rest of my career.

"I set up the guys nicely today and we qualified for the final which is the main thing, so we're all happy."

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Jeremiah Azu put his individual disappointment in the 100m behind him to help Great Britain through to tomorrow's final of the men's 4x100m relay.

Azu gave the quartet a solid start before handing over to Louie Hinchliffe.

Richard Kilty ran the bend while Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake held off Japan to finish third, with USA comfortable winners ahead of South Africa.

It was a season's best for GB with a time of 38.04.

Cardiff sprinter Azu was disqualified for a false start in the men's individual 100m heats on Saturday.

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With Jade Jones and Emma Finucane aiming to win gold on day 13 in Paris, the 2024 Games could soon be the most successful ever Olympics for Welsh athletes.

The previous record was set at the Rio Games 2016, with four gold medals and six silvers.

So far in Paris 12 Welsh athletes have won nine medals for Team GB - three golds, two silvers and four bronzes.

So two golds today - or anytime between now and the end of the Games on Sunday - would make Paris 2024 Wales’ most successful Olympics - both in terms of medal count and golds.

Here's a reminder of who has won what so far:

GOLD - Matt Richards & Kieran Bird (swimming - men’s 4x200m freestyle relay)

GOLD - Emma Finucane (cycling - women’s team sprint)

GOLD - Harry Brightmore (rowing - men’s eight, cox)

SILVER - Matt Richards (swimming - men’s 200m freestyle)

SILVER - Ollie Wynne-Griffith (rowing - men’s pair)

BRONZE - Eve Stewart (rowing - women’s eight)

BRONZE - Matt Aldridge (rowing - men’s four)

BRONZE - Becky Wilde (rowing - women’s double sculls)

BRONZE - Elinor Barker, Jess Roberts, Anna Morris (cycling - women’s team pursuit).

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For all you Cardiff City fans, we have an Olympics link for you this morning.

In the women’s heptathlon all eyes might be on Katarina Johnson-Thompson, but also in the competition for Team GB is Jade O’Dowda, sister of Cardiff City player Callum.

It is a first Olympics for Jade, although she did win bronze at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and claimed gold in the long jump at this year’s British Athletics Championships.

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Welsh focus on Thursday - day 13 of the Paris Games - is on the athletics and cycling tracks and the taekwondo mat in the Grand Palais.

Jeremiah Azu will be looking for redemption with the 4x100m relay team. He returns to the Stade de France five days after being disqualified for a false start in the 100m heats.

Great Britain go in heat one at 10:35 BST and will be expected to progress to Friday's final.

Next up from Wales is Jade Jones. The two-time Olympic taekwondo champion is hunting for a third gold medal, with her round-of-16 tie at 11:00 BST and - if she makes it that far - the final scheduled for 20:37.

Jones won in London and Rio but suffered a shock early exit in Tokyo. Her build-up to Paris has not been perfect, not least a doping case where she avoided a ban over a refused test because of “very exceptional circumstances”.

Up to now, no taekwondo athlete has won three Olympic golds.

Cyclist Emma Finucane is being tipped for three golds at this Games.

Having already won her first Olympic title in the team sprint on Monday, the 21-year-old from Carmarthen comfortably won her women's keirin heat on Wednesday.

In the keirin, riders follow a pacing motorbike or electric bike called a derny, which gradually increases in speed from 30km/h to 50km/h.

After 750m, the derny peels off the track and a three-lap sprint begins.

The quarter-finals in the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome get underway at 16:18 BST, and if all goes to plan Finucane will have a semi-final at 17:15 before going for gold in the final at 18:11.

Finucane's final event, the individual sprint, is run over Friday, Saturday and Sunday.