BBC Wales at the Olympics

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Welsh track cyclist Elinor Barker has been talking to BBC Sport after helping Team GB win the women's team pursuit bronze.

"Maybe the cameras don't pick up that level of detail but we definitely lost our nerve, well at least I did," said Barker.

"We thought we would be a bit further up on them, so to see before the end that it was really quite close, I did not expect that."

The Great Britain quartet had set a new national record earlier in the day.

"I was really happy with that," said Barker.

"I had a good feeling on the start line, felt a bit like a sprung coil ready to go.

"I am just glad to get that feeling because it is so rare to feel like that on a big race day. I'm really glad it has all fallen into place."

Watch as Great Britain's Elinor Barker, Josie Knight, Anna Morris and Jessica Roberts time a late charge against Italy to win the women's team pursuit bronze medal race at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

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Welsh track cycling trio Elinor Barker, Jessica Roberts and Anna Morris have claimed Olympic bronze in the women's team pursuit event in Paris.

Barker, Roberts, Morris and Josie Knight formed the GB quartet that beat Italy to clinch a podium position.

Barker, 29, has completed the full set of Olympic medals having won the gold in Rio in 2016 and a silver in Tokyo five years later.

She will compete in the Madison on Friday. while Roberts and Morris claimed medals in their first Olympics.

This was Barker's third Games but her first since becoming a mum to Nico in 2022.

She found out she was pregnant on the day she won Olympic silver in the women's team pursuit in Tokyo, meaning a cocktail of emotions as she also came to terms with being left out of the GB quartet for their final against Germany.

At that time, Barker says, Paris was not on her radar - but she has made a remarkable return to the sport after pregnancy.

She competed for Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games when Nico was just five months old, then won two world titles in the team pursuit and the Madison in 2023.

When the last Olympics took place in Tokyo, Morris was in a Gloucestershire hospital training to be a doctor. She had started cycling at university and would fit training around her shifts.

Morris, who went to the same Cardiff school as Barker, paused her medical career to try - successfully - to make the 2022 Commonwealth Games for Wales, and did not stop there.

She moved on to the British Cycling programme in Manchester and has become an important part of the women's endurance squad.

Morris was part of the world championship-winning team pursuit quartet in Glasgow last summer and has now picked up a medal in Paris.

Roberts was always considered a hugely talented young rider but everything went on hold for her in 2021 as she was forced to take time away from cycling to recover from a long-standing back injury.

That issue is behind her now and, after two Commonwealth Games appearances for Wales, she got the chance to race at her first Olympics.

Tom Brown
BBC Sport Wales

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As we await the women's team pursuit bronze medal race against Italy, not only are three of this GB quartet Welsh - but two of them went to the same school.

Elinor Barker and Anna Morris were in the same year at Llanishen High School in Cardiff.

The team's travelling reserve, Elinor's younger sister Meg, went there too.

And so did 100m sprinter Jeremiah Azu.

Not a bad return for one school.

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Pembrokeshire sailor Micky Beckett's hopes of a podium finish in the men's dinghy have ended in disappointment.

He had been heading for silver after the second restart of the day, but a windshift forced that race to be abandoned.

In the third attempt, the 29-year-old from Solva sustained three penalties and finished last in the 10-boat fleet to end his campaign in sixth overall.

That helped Peruvian Stefano Peschiera hold on to the bronze medal spot despite also being penalised twice as he and Beckett duelled at the back of the pack.

Cypriot Clemente Seguel Lacamara took second behind Australia's Matt Wearn.

Beckett and his rivals had to endure a general recall for a restart at the first attempt and the Welshman was on course to overhaul Lacamara as well as Peschiera before the winds of fate blew his challenge off course.

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Welsh swimmer Hector Pardoe will be glad Wednesday's familiarisation session for marathon swimming in the River Seine has gone ahead despite ongoing concerns over water quality.

The session had been cancelled five times because of pollution in the river.

It provides respite for Paris 2024 organisers after issues with events taking place in the Seine have dogged these Olympics.

The men's triathlon had to be postponed by a day because of low water quality.

The marathon swimming familiarisation had been cancelled after tests showed levels of bacteria in the water had dropped below the required standard.

Heavy rainfall has increased the levels of bacteria in the Seine, although hot weather helps to reduce the count.

The women's 10km marathon swimming race is set to take place on Thursday with the men's on Friday.

If the Seine is deemed unsuitable on the day of marathon swimming, organisers said the 10km races can be moved to Vaires-sur-Marne, east of Paris, where the rowing and canoeing competitions take place.

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Welsh track cycling trio Elinor Barker, Jessica Roberts and Anna Morris will ride for a bronze medal alongside Josie Knight in the team pursuit on Wednesday evening.

The Team GB quartet just missed out on the gold medal race after being pipped by the United States of America. The time of 4:04.908 was a national record for the GB riders.

Team GB will battle it out with Italy in the bronze medal race scheduled for 18:17 BST.

Barker is aiming to complete the Olympic medal set after winning gold in Rio in 2016 and silver in Tokyo five years later, while Morris and Roberts are aiming for their first Games podium finish.

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Welsh track cyclist Emma Finucane began her bid for a second Olympic gold when she came through the keirin first round in Paris.

Finucane, who was part of the GB team sprint winning trio on Monday evening, eased to victory in her heat to qualify for Thursday's quarter-finals.

The medals will be decided on Thursday evening.

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.

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.

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Bearing in mind the lack of wind that has disrupted Micky Beckett's campaign for a men's dinghy podium finish in Marseille, it is probably best we concentrate on something of a certainty at the Games.

Not the certainty of a medal of course, but the sure knowledge that Welsh trio Elinor Barker, Jess Roberts and Anna Morris will join team-mate Josie Knight in going all out to earn a slice of glory at the velodrome in the women's team pursuit.

That is the only cycling medal on offer for any Welsh riders today, with the first round scheduled for 12:52 BST.

Shortly before that Emma Finucane will begin her challenge for a second gold. Having already won in the women's team pursuit, Finucane will go it alone in the keirin at 12:26 BST, hoping to avoid the need to be in the repechage scheduled for 14:10 BST.

If the winds blow agreeably in Marseille - as they failed to do on Tuesday - Micky Beckett could be celebrating bronze or silver in a medal race rescheduled to start at 12:13 BST.

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The men's and women's dinghy medal races have been delayed until tomorrow because of lack of wind in Marseille.

The women's race was scheduled to start at 13:43 BST, with the men's at 14:43 BST - but organisers have decided that no further racing is possible today.

Great Britain’s two-time World Championship medallist Micky Beckett is in contention for a spot on the podium after finishing fourth at the end of the qualifying series.

But it was not good news for Chris Grube and helm Vita Heathcote in the mixed dinghy event, who were waiting to compete in the now cancelled races nine and 10.

The pair finished 15th and seventh in races seven and eight that went ahead this morning - but with winds dropping, races 9 and 10 were called off.

That left the British pair stranded in 11th and agonisingly just a point behind 10th that would have been enough for a place in tomorrow's scheduled medal race, ending their Olympic hopes.

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Wales dId not have any athletes competing in the skateboarding, but some Welsh blood carved up La Concorde in Paris where Australian Ruby Trew competed

Her father, James, hailed from Barry in south Wales before emigrating to New South Wales.

Trew was a silver medallist behind GB's Sky Brown at the World Skateboarding Pro Tour in San Juan, Argentina, in 2023, but did not progress from the qualifiers today.

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Welsh track cycling trio Elinor Barker, Anna Morris and Jess Roberts will ride for a medal in the women's team pursuit on Wednesday along with Josie Knight.

The Great Britain quartet qualified third fastest behind New Zealand and the United States of America in the first round.

GB will race the United States in what is effectively a semi-final on Wednesday afternoon.

The other tie will be between New Zealand and Italy with the two winners racing each other for the golds.

Germany, the reigning champions and world record holders, have missed out on a medal as they are down in fifth in qualifying, while Ireland came ninth.

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Pembrokeshire's Micky Beckett is in sailing medal contention when the men’s dinghy race gets under way.

However the event (originally scheduled for 14:43 BST) has been delayed due to low winds.

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There will be three Welshwomen looking to emulate Emma Finucane's golden exploits when the team pursuit event starts today at 16:30 BST, with the medals decided on Wednesday.

After winning gold in Rio in 2016, this will be Elinor Barker's third Olympic Games but her first since becoming a mum to Nico in 2022.

She found out she was pregnant on the day she won Olympic silver in the women's team pursuit in Tokyo, meaning a cocktail of emotions as she also came to terms with being left out of the GB quartet for their final against Germany.

At that time, Barker says, Paris was not on her radar - but she has made a remarkable return to the sport after pregnancy.

She competed for Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games when Nico was just five months old, then won two world titles in the team pursuit and Madison in 2023. Those events are in Barker's sights in Paris.

When the last Olympics took place in Tokyo, Anna Morris was in a Gloucestershire hospital training to be a doctor. She had started cycling at university and would fit training around her shifts.

Morris paused her medical career to try - successfully - to make the 2022 Commonwealth Games for Wales, and did not stop there.

She moved on to the British Cycling programme in Manchester and has become an important part of the women's endurance squad.

She was part of the world championship-winning team pursuit quartet in Glasgow last summer and will aim for the same in Paris. She will also double up on the road, with her medical career still on hold.

Jess Roberts was always considered a hugely talented young rider but everything went on hold for her in 2021 as she was forced to take time away from cycling to recover from a long-standing back injury.

That issue is behind her now and, after two Commonwealth Games appearances for Wales, she gets the chance to race at her first Olympics.

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Welshman Hector Pardoe will be an interested observer after Paris 2024 organisers cancelled training for open water swimming on Tuesday because of pollution in the River Seine.

It is the fifth time the water quality has forced a swim familiarisation session to be cancelled during these Games, while the men's race also had to be put back a day.

The latest cancellation comes a day after triathlon's mixed team relay went ahead.

All the triathlon swim legs have taken place in the Seine, which is also set to be used for marathon swimming.

Tests showed the levels of the enterococci bacteria in the water had dropped back below the required standard, although E. coli levels were still deemed acceptable.

Another familiarisation session is scheduled for Wednesday, with the women's 10km race due to take place on Thursday and the men's race on Friday.

World Aquatics spokesperson Anne Descamps said: "We are confident the events will go ahead as planned given the weather tendency."

Heavy rainfall has increased the levels of bacteria in the Seine, although hot weather helps to reduce the count.

If the Seine is still deemed unsuitable, organisers have said marathon swimming can be moved to Vaires-sur-Marne, east of Paris, where the rowing and canoeing competitions take place.

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Great Britain will be among the contenders for gold in the women's team pursuit at the Paris Olympics, but it will be hard not to think about the rider who is not there.

Plans for these Games were flipped upside down six weeks ago when two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion Katie Archibald broke two bones in her leg and tore ligaments off the bone in a freak accident when she tripped on a step in her garden in late June.

Welsh cyclist Elinor Barker, gearing up for her third Games after helping Britain to team pursuit gold in Rio and silver in Tokyo, said the rest of the team are still "a little bit in shock about it".

"Everybody is thinking of Katie," Barker said. "Everybody who knows Katie just wants her to be happy. I think she deserves that and more.

"It's not been so much about the racing. It's been about, 'What does she need?"

Welsh Olympic debutants Jess Roberts and Anna Morris are due to join Barker and Josie Knight in the team pursuit in qualifying on Tuesday which starts around 16:30 BST with the medals decided on Wednesday.

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Solva sailor Micky Beckett has the chance to return from his debut games with a silver or a bronze in the men's dinghy medal races in Marseille today.

After a wind-disrupted Monday, Beckett lies fourth of the top 10 qualifiers.

The 29-year-old must beat third-placed Peruvian Stefano Peschiera by three places on Tuesday to make the podium with racing scheduled to start at 14:43 BST.

Before that Chris Grube, the oldest Welsh Olympian at this Games aged 39, and helm Vita Heathcote are scheduled for mixed dinghy races nine and 10, due to start at 11:15 BST.

Grube and Heathcote lie 11th going into Tuesday and must finish in the top 10 to make their medal races.

Focus returns to the National Veledrome in Paris at 16:30 BST as Welsh riders Elinor Barker, Jess Roberts and Anna Morris hope to ensure GB qualify in the women's team pursuit event.

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Emma Finucane was overcome after winning Olympic track cycling gold in Paris in the women's team sprint event.

"We have been working really hard on this," said Finucane.

"We nailed that final and I believed in us before we went out there, but we actually executed those three laps pretty much perfectly.

"It is a dream come true. I have thought about this since I was 10 years old and to have these two girls by my side has been unreal."

Watch Team GB, including Welsh cyclist Emma Finucane, win gold in the women's team sprint as they beat New Zealand in the final and break the world record for the third time in a day at Paris 2024.

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Welsh track cyclist Emma Finucane has won Olympic gold in the final of the women's team sprint in Paris.

Finucane, Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell set a world record to defeat New Zealand in the final.

The Team GB trio had qualified fastest after breaking the world record twice on the way to the final and this was a hat-trick of world's bests.

Finucane becomes only the seventh Welsh woman to ever win Olympic gold with the success coming on the opening day of competition in her first Games.

The 21-year-old is in contention to challenge for two more golds in Paris with the keirin final on Thursday and the sprint finale on the final day next Sunday.

Finucane is already a world champion having won Britain's first individual female sprint global gold in a decade last year.

The Carmarthen cyclist is also a European champion after becoming the first British female sprinter to achieve this feat.

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Track cyclist Emma Finucane is guaranteed an Olympic gold or silver after helping Team GB to another world record in the women’s team sprint first round.

After both Germany and then New Zealand broke the world record themselves, GB needed to beat Canada and finish in the top two fastest teams to qualify for the gold medal match.

Once again, Carmarthen's Finucane did the job on the last lap and GB will now race New Zealand for Olympic gold just before 19:00 BST.