Who is Wales’ new gold medal star, Emma Finucane?

She has achieved her childhood dream, but could she be on the verge of Olympic history?

Already a world champion and now an Olympic gold medallist aged just 21, Emma Finucane still has two further opportunities in Paris to add to her women’s team sprint gold.

If she does so, she would become the first British woman to achieve that feat at one Games.

Finucane anchored the Team GB team that beat New Zealand in Monday’s sprint final in a world record time.

So who is Emma Finucane? And what comes next for her in Paris?

For Finucane, winning Olympic gold was her childhood dream come true.

It started at Carmarthen Velodrome in 2011 where eight-year-old Emma would go along with her sister, Rosie, and brother, Sean as she began with pink tassels hanging off her handlebars.

With her skills honed at local cycling club, Towy Riders, Finucane’s progress since has been – as she is on the track – very quick and achieved with a minimum of fuss or fanfare.

There are no more pink tassels.

Aged 16 she was a junior European champion and aged 18, a national champion in the senior National Track Championships.

A bronze medal followed in 2022 at the Commonwealth Games before a stunning success in 2023 as Finucane won sprint gold at the World Championships, becoming the third Briton to achieve the feat after Victoria Pendleton and compatriot Becky James.

Earlier this year, Finucane won the European women’s sprint title – along with silvers in the team sprint and keirin. It was the best performance by a British sprinter at a European Championships.

The stage was set for Finucane to make her mark in Paris… and she did exactly that as she joined Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell in winning gold in a world record time.

Finucane was also roared on by her parents in Monday’s dramatic final, with her father Rory and mother Susie Finucane hiring a camper van and driving the whole family over from Carmarthen.

“That whizzy moment when she crossed the line made our effort of the last 10 years or so all worth it,” father Rory reflected.

“That was her dream and she is living it.”

“It’s insane, unbelievable,” mother Susie added. “Just to be an Olympian is unbelievable. For us as a family, it’s amazing.

“We are just so proud of her.”

Pendleton, who won two Olympic gold medals and a silver medal across the 2008 and 2012 games, was commentating on Finucane’s win in the team sprint and believes the 21-year year old is on the “verge of being a world superstar.”

“She went out and delivered,” Pendleton said.

“They produced a beautiful performance, it was absolutely incredible.

“I think Emma is going to be a huge star.

“She’s so young and so successful and she’s very level headed and very calm and confident.

“Since I first saw her race I have felt she has almost a sixth sense when it comes to racing, it comes so naturally to her, she seems to have such an awareness.”

Two more of Great Britain’s greatest Olympic cyclists are backing Finucane to win gold in her remaining events.

Sir Chris Hoy and Laura Kenny won 13 Olympic medals between them – 11 golds and two silvers – during glittering careers.

“The one star you’ve got to keep an eye out for is Emma Finucane,” Hoy, who won seven golds and a silver, told the BBC.

“She could win the women’s keirin. She could be a triple Olympic champion and it’s her first Olympics.

“I don’t want to pile too much pressure on her, but she’s got a chance.”

Kenny, who describes Finucane as being “unreal,” added: “I keep saying it and then I keep thinking ‘don’t say it because you just put pressure on her’, but honestly she could be the first female to win three gold medals at a single Olympics, and she’s only 21,” Kenny added.

“So you need to watch her.”

For Finucane, there is the shared sense of achievement her parents feel as she reflects on what winning a gold medal would have meant to her as a child.

“Looking back at the 10-year-old me always has a special place in my heart,” she told BBC Sport. “Even when I’m competing today, 10-year-old Emma’s proud no matter what.

“I’m literally living her dream. If I told her, in 10 years time you’d be world champion going to your first Olympics, I would’ve been like ‘no I’m not’. I really need to cherish that. That’s what keeps me grounded.

“My family love me no matter if I cross the line last or first. They are my values and as long as I hold onto them, the outcomes will be what they will be.”

And there are two more outcomes for Finucane to come this week as she challenges for gold in the keirin and individual sprint events.

Finucane has already added her name to the small list of Welsh women to win Olympic gold, joining Lauren Price, Hannah Mills, Elinor Barker, Jade Jones, Nicole Cooke and Irene Steer.

Mills and Jones have both won two Olympic gold medals – with Jones competing for number three this week – while Finucane’s cycling teammate Elinor Barker will target her second gold after success in Tokyo.

However, Finucane can achieve a feat that no British female athlete has ever managed by winning three golds in a single Olympics, following in the footsteps of Team GB coach Jason Kenny.

Finucane says her first gold medal has opened her eyes to what could be possible.

“It’s a big confidence boost. It’s a big week for me and this gold has given me a lot of confidence,” she told BBC Sport Wales.

“I want to go into it and enjoy it and see what I can do.”

In order to even be in contention for two more medals, Finucane will face a loaded schedule, riding on five successive days.

All times BST.

Wednesday 7, August: Women’s keirin first round, from 12:26, repechages from 14:10.

Thursday, 8 August: Women’s keirin, quarter-finals, from 14:10, semi-finals 17:15, final 18:01.

Friday, 9 August: Women’s sprint, qualifying from 13:00, 1/32 from 13:48, last 1/16 from 18:10.

Saturday, 10 August: Women’s sprint, 1/8 from 16:00, quarter-finals from 18:07.

Sunday, 11 August: Women’s sprint, semi finals from 10:22, bronze and gold medal 11:25.