Paris 2024 Olympics: Team GB cycling's Emma Finucane and Beth Shriever share a world-beating friendship

Close friends often play dress-up together, but it was quite, quite different when British Cycling team-mates Emma Finucane and Beth Shriever did so.

The track cyclist and BMX racer, respectively, donned the famous rainbow jerseys together when they both became world champions at the same time in 2023.

"I won my first world title in Glasgow … and I remember she texted me and said, 'Emma, wear your worlds kit today,' " said Finucane in July, speaking to Olympics.com on a video call days before she headed to Paris 2024 for her debut Games. "So I brought my track bike to the BMX track and she was like, let's take some photos, and we were just messing around. It's just nice to have those memories."

They will be creating some more memories together in France's capital. Finucane is competing in the women's team and individual sprint in track cycling, and the keirin, while Shriever will have completed the defence of her Olympic title the day after Finucane arrives for her events in Paris.

The pair have known each other since early 2021 when Finucane moved to the northwest of England from Wales, and up to the famed Manchester Velodrome to train with the uber-successful British Cycling team.

At that stage, Shriever was in the process of training for the delayed Tokyo 2020, but the two bonded immediately.

"British Cycling supplies us with houses and she was in a different house to me, but one of the girls that I became really close friends with is Blaine [Ridge-Davis, a track cyclist] one of her best friends. And we all started hanging out.

"I remember the first time we met, she actually dyed my hair. We just connected. She is such an amazing person, and she's so funny."

Finucane and Ridge-Davis watched their friend on TV in the middle of the night, the time difference from the UK proving painful for many an Olympic fan. But it was worth it. Shriever came away with a first-ever gold medal for GB in BMX racing, just minutes after compatriot Kye Whyte claimed the first ever medal with silver in the men's event.

"I actually slept in her bed," said a laughing Finucane. "Blaine was waking me up, and she was like, 'Beth's on!' So we'd go downstairs at 2 a.m."

This time, though, the pair will be in Paris together and the support they offer each other via their friendship will be important for both.

Sisterhood on and off the track for Finucane and Shriever

"She's a huge role model for me," said Finucane of Shriever. "She's taught me so much, like, how to be an athlete and just little things about, 'Emma off the bike.' Like I need to be happy and that will help me channel my 'Emma on the bike.'

"I've really looked up to her and she's like taking me under her wing … and for her to be one of my best friends, Olympic champion, and supporting me in Paris is going to be crazy."

Finucane had quite the breakout year in 2023, becoming Britain’s first world champion in women’s sprint in a decade.

Not since Victoria Pendleton, who won six world sprint titles during her time, and Becky James, who was the last Brit to win gold in the event, in 2013, have the Brits had a world champion. This bodes well for the strength of Team GB when it comes to track cycling at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome from 5-11 August.

“Since coming into sprinting in the last two or three years, I’ve massively looked up to Vicky and Becky, who is Welsh, too, which is really special," Finucane said.

“I’ve got a really long way to go to be anywhere close to them because they are huge, and they’ve done so much for the women’s programme."

But now it's Finucane's turn in the spotlight, and she's ready for it, with a little help from her Olympic gold medal-winning friend.

"She's always got my best interests at heart, and I hope I do with her, too," said a smiling Finucane. "Because she's had so much success and I've had some, I can understand how she feels and she understands, like when I'm wearing that world jersey, she's like, you will feel pressure, you will feel nervous. She's been through that, and she's had the highs and lows of winning and losing. So have I. So it's priceless, all the knowledge I gain from her, and yeah, it's been amazing to see the journey we've been on and for both of us going to Paris is going to be special."

Ahead of her friend's race on Friday, when she'll be safely ensconced in the Olympic Village, having travelled to France's capital the day before, Finucane knows exactly what she'll say to her friend: "I will be telling her to enjoy it, that I love her and I'm proud of her no matter what she does on the track, and so are her family and friends. And I'll be telling her that 10-year-old Beth is proud no matter what you do."

Pretty sure Shriever will be saying "right back 'atcha" a few days later.