Lara Gillespie (Team Ireland) has taken a gold medal at the European Track Championships in Anadia, Portugal, this evening. The 22-year-old Wicklow woman has medaled at major championships through her career, from the European Youth Olympics to the junior Worlds and Europeans on the track and the U23 track Europeans.
However, since her last medal win at the track Europeans two years ago - silver in the pursuit - she has endured a very difficult period of illness and injury and has shown great character to come back from that.
She is riding on the road this year for UAE Development Team and is a central part of the Team Ireland elite team pursuit set-up. Last month she stepped back onto the road at home in Ireland and claimed gold in the U23-elite road race at the National Road Championships in Co Tyrone, confirming her form.
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She claimed her gold medal this evening in the points race, and is now U23 European champion in the discipline; the latest chapter in a storied career, though she is still aged just 22 years.
The Irish rider’s gold this evening is her seventh medal at a Europeans, and her second at U23 level. The previous five medals came when she was a junior, including gold in the points race at the Europeans as a first-year junior in 2018.
More to come.
