Pre-Games injury may be 'blessing' for BMX racer

BMX racer Beth Shriever believes a broken collarbone suffered only two months ago may prove to be a blessing in disguise as she prepares to defend her Olympic title in Paris.

The 25-year-old suffered the injury in her semi-final at the World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Shriever, from Finchingfield in Essex, but based in Manchester, had to spend time allowing her shoulder to heal but now insists it is stronger than it has ever been.

"It just changed the perception of what the next few weeks were looking like. Even at the Worlds I was thinking, 'I can't wait to get back to Manchester and have this lead-in to the Games,'" she told BBC Sport.

"I was in good form. I was defending my world jersey so I wanted to go out with a bang but made a little mistake on the last straight of the semi-final and my day was done.

"I knew straight away I'd done something and thankfully USA BMX had an X-ray machine on site. I had my physio there and she said, 'Don't worry, Beth, we've got this.'"

Shriever continued: "I feel that was a blessing in disguise for me because it took the focus away from the Games. Now everything is coming together, I'm feeling really positive and super excited."

Shriever won Britain's first BMX Olympic medal when she took gold in Tokyo three years ago, beating Colombia's Mariana Pajon - who she calls the "queen of BMX" - by 0.090 seconds in the women's final.

It was an incredible achievement by a competitor who had to launch a crowdfunding appeal to raise money to give her a chance of being able to qualify for the Games.

"This time round I am a favourite, but I work with my psychologist a lot and we've taken the view that I'm a gold medallist forever. No-one takes that medal away from me, you don't hand it back," she said.

"I'm not going there [to Paris] to defend anything. It's a clean slate for everyone. It would be amazing to medal again, that's everyone's dream."

Despite that viewpoint, Shriever, a two-time world champion, accepts that there will inevitably be extra pressure as she waits at the start for her first race on 1 August.

"In any sport, especially BMX, you could be the fastest on the day but if your head's not in it or things are getting to you, you'll be done in the first round.

"It's extremely important to be on top of things, be on top of your nerves, have a process," she said.

So apart from the prospect of a second Olympic medal, what goals remain for Shriever?

"I've never been an overall World Cup champion, that's on the list. And I think the most [Olympic] titles a women has ever won in BMX is three so I want to get up there. I want to be known as one of the greatest BMX racers of all time. That's what keeps me going," she added.

"To get another gold would be incredible and the scenes will be insane but what will be will be. Life won't change massively either way. I've just got to enjoy the ride and see what happens."