Five years ago in Rio, the Netherlands' Annemiek van Vleuten suffered one of the more horrific crashes you'll ever see in a bike race. All alone in first place with less than 12km remaining in the women's road race, Van Vleuten's tires locked up around a tight turn and she flipped over the handlebars, fracturing her back in three places.

She was back to competitive racing within a month of the injury—how?—but these Games were the chance at redemption for the now-38-year-old.

Van Vleuten thought she got that redemption in the women's road race earlier this week, celebrating at the end of the 137km race as though she had won gold. But Austria's Anna Kiesenhofer had pulled so far ahead of the pack that everyone forgot about her. She won gold by 75 seconds, and Van Vleuten had to settle for silver.

She finally got her gold medal in the Day 5 women's road time trial.

Five years ago in Rio, the Netherlands' Annemiek van Vleuten suffered one of the more horrific crashes you'll ever see in a bike race. All alone in first place with less than 12km remaining in the women's road race, Van Vleuten's tires locked up around a tight turn and she flipped over the handlebars, fracturing her back in three places.
She was back to competitive racing within a month of the injury&mdash;how?&mdash;but these Games were the chance at redemption for the now-38-year-old.
Van Vleuten thought she got that redemption in the women's road race earlier this week, celebrating at the end of the 137km race as though she had won gold. But Austria's Anna Kiesenhofer had pulled so far ahead of the pack that everyone forgot about her. She won gold by 75 seconds, and Van Vleuten had to settle for silver.
She finally got her gold medal in the Day 5 women's road time trial.

From The West Australian, Let's Go Tokyo, hosted by Mark Readings and Ben O'Shea is a podcast dedicated to bringing you the latest on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.

As well as daily recaps and analysis, Mark and Ben will interview competing Olympians and former greats to give you an inside look into the athlete's village, and what goes through the mind of an Olympian before an event.

Hear from greats such as swimming champions Eamon Sullivan and Todd Pearson, former Hockeyroo Sally Carbon, Pole Vaulter Emma George and Basketball superstar Andrew Vlahov.

From The West Australian, Let's Go Tokyo, hosted by Mark Readings and Ben O'Shea is a podcast dedicated to bringing you the latest on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
As well as daily recaps and analysis, Mark and Ben will interview competing Olympians and former greats to give you an inside look into the athlete's village, and what goes through the mind of an Olympian before an event.
Hear from greats such as swimming champions Eamon Sullivan and Todd Pearson, former Hockeyroo Sally Carbon, Pole Vaulter Emma George and Basketball superstar Andrew Vlahov.

Let's Go Tokyo Podcast

From The West Australian, Let's Go Tokyo, hosted by Mark Readings and Ben O'Shea is a podcast dedicated to bringing you the latest on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.

As well as daily recaps and analysis, Mark and Ben will interview competing Olympians and former greats to give you an inside look into the athlete's village, and what goes through the mind of an Olympian before an event.

Hear from greats such as swimming champions Eamon Sullivan and Todd Pearson, former Hockeyroo Sally Carbon, Pole Vaulter Emma George and Basketball superstar Andrew Vlahov.

In the week leading up to the games, Mark and Ben speak to West Aussies headint to Tokyo to represent Australia. In this trailer, hear from Artistic Swimmer, Amie Thompson.

From <a href="https://thewest.com.au/">The West Australian</a>, Let's Go Tokyo, hosted by Mark Readings and Ben O'Shea is a podcast dedicated to bringing you the latest on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
As well as daily recaps and analysis, Mark and Ben will interview competing Olympians and former greats to give you an inside look into the athlete's village, and what goes through the mind of an Olympian before an event.
Hear from greats such as swimming champions Eamon Sullivan and Todd Pearson, former Hockeyroo Sally Carbon, Pole Vaulter Emma George and Basketball superstar Andrew Vlahov.
In the week leading up to the games, Mark and Ben speak to West Aussies headint to Tokyo to represent Australia. In this trailer, hear from Artistic Swimmer, Amie Thompson.