Australia’s Olympic cyclist Grace Brown: ‘If I come fourth, I’ll be disappointed’

Australia’s Grace Brown is hoping to snag an Olympic medal in the time trial around the streets of Paris. Photograph: David Davies/PA

Australian cyclist Grace Brown finished fourth in the women’s individual time trial at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She missed a spot on the podium, and a coveted Olympic medal, by a mere seven seconds.

Brown has been making up for lost time ever since. At the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in mid-2022, she won gold; at the world championships a month later, on home soil in Wollongong, she claimed the silver medal. It was more of the same at last year’s world championships, again finishing second, and post-Tokyo Brown has won three consecutive national time trial titles.