Elinor Barker: Rio 2016 Olympic gold just means I've got a heavier bag to carry around

Olympic champion: Elinor Barker
(Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Elinor Barker23 August 2016

Cycling: team pursuit gold

How does it feel to be an Olympic champion?

Nothing really feels different yet. It feels strangely normal and, with the gold medal, I just have a heavier bag to carry around! It feels a bit like I’ve won a normal bike race but it’s been extra special that my family are here.

What are your memories of the final?

It was amazing to cross the line, total shock to start with. I found the last lap really hard. I knew from the start I wasn’t going to be as good as I had been in the other rounds. I was clinging on for dear life at the end. I thought I’d dropped enough in the last lap that we could have lost it. It was only when I crossed the line I realised we’d won. It was a world record, everything happened at once and it was just incredible. I didn’t think it would be a world record — it felt like a 4:13 or 4:14 as I was struggling so much. It just felt hard but then I saw the scoreboard say 4:10, which is why it was so hard!

Considering your quartet finished third at the World Championships, are you surprised to be champions?

A few years ago we had a meeting and discussed what time would win the Olympics. We said 4:10 — and we were right. Until we crossed the finishing line it didn’t seem like that was an achievable target. It seemed impossible. Somehow with everything that went on in London and beyond, it was some kind of fairytale and we managed it.

In Pictures: Team GB's medal run at Rio 2016 Olympics

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Have you had a chance to celebrate?

Immediately after it was really emotional. I think I stopped after about a lap, found my family and it was not long until the girls caught up with me for a big emotional hug. We’re hugging with my family in the background in virtually every newspaper. That night I went out with Katy Archibald to British House still in our kit — aero socks and sports bras. We went in and got introduced to pristine people in heels and dresses, and then Cath Wiggins, Bradley’s wife, got us in a photo with a lot of the other cyclists. When they put the gold around my neck I remember thinking, ‘I’m never taking this off’. After an hour I took it off, it’s heavy, quite painful actually! I went to the athletics and even got a selfie with Usain Bolt, well, slightly in the distance.

Do you now get some time off?

I’m going back to Manchester and then Cardiff. I’ve also become an aunt, so I’ll visit my brother and his wife in China. My boyfriend and I have a trip to California planned, some friends are getting married and then preparations for 2017 start on October 10.

What’s up next for you?

That’s down to me. Funding wise, I’m not sure when I have to come back. If I’m happy to be self-funded I can come back whenever I want, so I might do that. I think I’ll take a step back from team pursuit and it would be fun to focus on points or scratch races. You need a change. If I want to defend in Tokyo, I need a mental space and time away from it.

DFS is the official homeware partner for Team GB and has created the limited edition Britannia range of upholstered furniture that will be placed in British House — Team GB headquarters in Rio. The Britannia range is available to buy now, instore and online at dfs.co.uk/Britannia

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