Olympic champion cyclist Emma Finucane says she has "nothing to prove" at the Commonwealth Games as she targets a long-awaited gold medal in Scotland. The 23-year-old, who won Olympic gold in the team sprint alongside Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell at Paris 2024, won two bronze medals in Birmingham four years ago and has since collected 16 medals at the Olympics, World and European Championships.
The Welsh rider says she is aiming for "the top step" of the podium in Glasgow and believes she is in a very different position from the rider who competed at Birmingham 2022.
"I haven't actually stood on the top step at the Commonwealth Games," Finucane told Wales.
"That's something I'd love to achieve this time round.
"I feel like I'm a different person four years on and I can't wait to show what I can do on the track."
Finucane, who is from Carmarthenshire, described the Birmingham Games as the "springboard" to her current success and said she would not be where she is today without them.
"I would not be where I am today without the Commonwealth Games," she said.
"The first time I was pretty young, pretty naive to the sport of sprint cycling.
"It was a very overwhelming experience, whereas this time round I feel like I'm more of an established rider."
"I was 19 [in Birmingham] and the year after I won my first world title, which was crazy for me.
"I think it gave me the confidence I needed as an athlete to develop in my career, and get to where I am so quickly.
"We became Olympic champions two years ago, and I actually don't even know how that happened."
Emma Finucane (centre), Lowri Thomas (left) and Rhian Edmunds (right) return in Glasgow as they attempt to upgrade their team sprint bronze from 2022.
Finucane will compete in the team sprint, the individual sprint, the 1km time trial and the keirin in Glasgow. She faces strong competition at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome from a deep field of British and international sprint riders.
England's squad includes Finucane's Olympic gold-winning team-mates Sophie Capewell and Katy Marchant, while Rhianna Parris-Smith has helped Finucane to UCI Track World Cup silver in Hong Kong this year. Scotland's Lauren Bell, who won sprint and keirin gold at the British Championships in 2024, is also expected to provide stiff competition.
New Zealand's Ellesse Andrews, who won three golds in Birmingham in the individual sprint, keirin and team sprint competitions, is another major contender.
A competitive couple
Finucane's partner, Matt Richardson, is also a cyclist and represents England after switching allegiance from Australia. Finucane says their shared sport creates a "fun relationship on the bike" and that their competitiveness helps rather than hinders them.
"We are really competitive people; if it's a game of Monopoly or it's a bike race, we are competitive and I think we use that to our strength.
Finucane says dating a fellow cyclist means they understand what the other person might need after competitions, whether things have gone well or badly.
"He understands completely what I'm feeling or how the times are, what I'll be happy with or what I'll be disappointed with.
"That's something really nice and not many people get that.
"You can literally go to your partner and he'll be like 'It's okay'.
"He gives me so much advice on what I can do or how to deal with things and I'd like to say vice versa.
"He's a lot more experienced than me, but I think I do bring a presence of a bit more calm and maybe perspective in the sport too.
"I think we're a good team together."
Richardson will not compete at the Games after being forced out by injury.
'My Oscars' and 'legacy' in the sport
Finucane hopes a strong performance in Glasgow will help strengthen her legacy in track cycling. She says the pressure is there, but she feels calm heading into the event and sees the Commonwealth Games as an opportunity rather than a burden.
"For us there's pressure everywhere, but I also feel calm coming into this Commonwealth Games; I have nothing to prove," she said.
"Obviously I do want to stand on that top step, and that will be the goal I'm trying to do; I've never achieved that in my career.
"But also I have my 'Oscars', as I call them.
"I won the Olympics, I've become world champion and I want to see how far I've gone in this sport.
"I want to win as much as I can, I want to be on the track as much as I can, representing Team Wales.
"So there is pressure. I'll definitely use that to drive me to try to win as many bike races as I can.
"It'll be insane to be in Glasgow, wearing the Welsh jersey, in front of my friends and family.
"I'm going to see how far I can go."
Finucane is among Wales' headline riders at the Commonwealth Games as she seeks to add to her growing collection of major medals and return to the podium in Glasgow.
Key Facts
- Emma Finucane won Olympic gold in the team sprint at Paris 2024 with Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell.
- She won two bronze medals at Birmingham 2022 and has since won 16 medals at the Olympics, World and European Championships.
- Finucane will compete in the team sprint, individual sprint, 1km time trial and keirin in Glasgow.
- Matt Richardson, her partner, represents England but will not compete at the Games because of injury.
- New Zealand's Ellesse Andrews won three golds at Birmingham in the individual sprint, keirin and team sprint.
