Cycling success and athletic agony for veterinary Olympians

Two veterinary members of Team GB had mixed fortunes before the Paris Olympics came to a spectacular close last night (11 August).

The RCVS posted its congratulations to Aberdeenshire-registered clinician Neah Evans on Friday after she won silver in cycling’s Madison race alongside Elinor Barker.

It was the 34-year-old’s second Olympic medal, having previously won silver in the team pursuit at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

But although she finished out of the medals in yesterday’s omnium, simply competing in France was a major achievement for Dr Evans, who said she was “delighted” with her medal as she disclosed she had contracted Epstein-Barr virus – a bacterial infection – in the spring.

‘Properly floored’

Describing after the Madison how she had been “properly floored” by the illness, she told BBC Sport: “The training plan was out the window.

“Honestly if at that point someone said ‘you will go to the Olympics and get a silver medal’ I’d have been like, ‘not a chance’.

Elsewhere, Laura Muir came agonisingly close to a medal in the Stade de France on Saturday night as she finished fifth in the 1,500 metres final.

Despite a fast finish, and a new personal best time of 3 minutes, 53.37 seconds, the multiple European champion was less than a second away from emulating her silver medal from 2021.

Best possible chance

Speaking earlier in the Games, Dr Muir said the event had moved on by “a flight of stairs”, rather than just one or two steps since Tokyo and her decision not to go with the early pace had given her the best possible chance.

She said: “I ran exactly how I wanted to and the fastest I ever have, so I can’t ask any more.”