Saffron Walden teaching assistant Beth Shriever lost her women’s Olympic BMX racing crown as she finished eighth and last in the Paris 2024 final.

Shriever, who worked at Dame Bradbury's before going pro, had gone one to be crowned world champion twice since she announced her talent to the world with Olympic gold in Tokyo three years ago.

And she looked odds on to retain the top spot after bossing every round in Thursday’s qualifying and Friday’s semi-finals, only for it all to go wrong in the one that mattered most.

She was unable to recover from a poor start and Australian Saya Sakakibara, the only rider quicker than Shriever in qualifying, stormed through to take the title instead.

“I was just a little bit late out at the start and I paid the price for it,” Shriever said.

“I got tangled up with Laura [Smulders], tried to make my way back and the race was done.”

Earlier Shriever had been blowing kisses to the crowd before blowing away the rest of the competition, winning all of her semi-final runs by several bike lengths and looking to be in fine fettle after breaking her collarbone at the world championships in May.

“I had the perfect run-in pretty much,” the 25-year-old added.

"I won everything going in and I think maybe I might have got a little bit excited, my thoughts got away from me but I can’t complain.

"I’ve had the best time, the absolute best time and that’s what it’s all about.

“The pressure is high, everyone’s feeling it, literally one little mistake cost me so, it is what it is.”

Shriever’s disappointment came after GB team-mate and Tokyo silver medallist, Kye Whyte, came to an abrupt end in the semi-finals.

Whyte had struggled through Thursday’s qualifiers, revealing he was suffering with a back injury.

The 24-year-old said then the pain was making him nervous of crashing, but that was exactly the fate that befell him in the second heat of his semi-final as he lost control just 75 metres in and hit the dirt hard, falling on his right side.

Whyte, who had finished fifth in his first heat, stayed down and received treatment on the track before being taken away on a stretcher but was moving, and could be seen removing his glove.

A statement from British Cycling said: “Following his crash in tonight’s BMX racing semi-final, Kye Whyte was assessed immediately by the on-site medical team.

“This was followed up by further immediate review by Great Britain Cycling team doctor Nigel Jones who delivered a positive report, with no significant injuries.

“We wish Kye a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him on his bike very soon.”

It continues a horrible run of injuries that have hit Whyte since that glorious day in Tokyo three years ago.

In 2022 he won both European gold and world championship silver, but there then followed a series of crashes that saw him break both shoulders and also knock himself out.

In front of the watching French president Emmanuel Macron, France took a superb 1-2-3 in the men’s final as Joris Daudet won from team-mates Sylvain Andre and Romain Mahieu to the delight of the crowd in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.