Who is Bethany Shriever? Britain’s BMX Olympic champion who worked as a teaching assistant while training for Games
BETHANY SHRIEVER is Britain's Olympic BMX champion after a phenomenal display at the Tokyo Games.
Shriever went one better than team-mate Kye Whyte, who finished up an amazing second place in the men's on a stunning day for BMX at the Olympics.
Who is Bethany Shriever and where is she from?
Bethany Shriever is 22-years-old and from Leytonstone.
She began BMX aged just nine years old at her local club in Braintree, and in 2017 became junior world champion.
Shriever had worked as a part-time teaching assistant as she trained for the Games after UK Sport stipulated in its post-Olympic funding review that only male riders could be supported heading towards Tokyo 2020.
She had said about her teaching job: "I've also started part-time as a teaching assistant for two- and three-year-olds. The school, which is also where my mum works, are absolutely great about giving me time off to compete. They've been massively supportive and I love it.
"It's also taught me a lot about talking to younger generations and I want to be a role model, particularly for the young girls so they can see what's achievable in sport."
What did she say when she won the Olympics?
Shriever said after her heroic win: "Honestly I’m in shock. Oh my god.
“To be here is an achievement in itself. To make a final is an achievement in itself.
“To come away with a medal, let alone a gold, is crazy.
“I owe a lot to everyone. This means so much. I am so grateful for the support of people waking up. I am overwhelmed.
“Gold wasn’t my goal. Results are out of our control. I wanted to keep to my routine and keep my cool round the track. I managed to hold on and take the win.
“I was almost crying after Kye’s silver. I watched it before going up. I had to keep my cool and reset. And just f**king…sorry, sorry.
“I had to dig in. I had no legs left. I gave it everything I had. I had nothing left.
“The lactic acid was crazy. I gave it absolutely everything I had. I was rewarded, it is amazing.
“I cannot put this into words. This is every athlete’s dream and I have done it.”
