PARIS, France — Chloe Dygert came for gold and left with bronze.
It was more than anyone could have forecast after an Achilles injury interrupted her training, only to be followed by a recent bout of COVID-19.
The 27-year-old Brownsburg cyclist, despite a crash on a course made slippery by rain, took bronze in the individual time trial at the Paris Olympics.
Dygert conceded afterward she didn’t feel much power in her legs as early as three minutes into her ride, and that only worsened after she took a turn too sharply and went down.
She experienced muscle spasms afterward and had to be assisted through the mixed zone, where athletes are interviewed after events.
Grace Brown, of Australia, took the gold medal in 39 minutes, 38.24 seconds.
Great Britain’s Anna Henderson took the silver medal in 41:09.83. Dygert was third in 4:10.70, less than a second from the silver.
This was Dygert's third medal in as many Olympics. The two others are both in track cycling’s team pursuit, a silver in 2016 and bronze in 2021.
Dygert still is scheduled for the road race in Paris, in addition to team pursuit.
Paris’ 32.4-kilometer course (20.13 miles) started and finished at Pont Alexandre III, a historic monument spanning the Seine and the most ornate bridge in Paris. Riders went east along the south bank and out into Bois de Vincennes. They twice passed the Notre-Dame cathedral.
They were within sight of the column of the Place de la Bastille, the former royal residence of the Chateau de Vincennes, and the outdoor Velodrome Jacques Anquetil, a site for the 1900 and 1924 Olympics.
The course was designed for speed, which would customarily favor Dygert. There were no hills and few obstacles, other than the twists of the Vincennes Forest and inner-city drain hole covers.
(NOTE: The video at the top of this story is a previous report on the Opening Ceremony at the 2024 Olympic Games.)
Contact WTHR correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.