Wikipedia

Finlay Graham

Finlay "Fin" Graham (born 24 September 1999) is a British racing cyclist from Scotland who competes in para-cycling road and track events. He is classified as a C3 cyclist. He has represented Great Britain at two Paralympic Games: in Tokyo, he won silver medals in the track individual pursuit and in the road race. In Paris, he again took a silver medal in the individual pursuit, but took his first Paralympic gold in the road race. Graham is a multiple-time British and World Champion across road and track disciplines.

Finlay Graham
Personal information
Full nameFinlay Graham
NicknameFin
Born (1999-09-24) 24 September 1999 (age 25)
Team information
DisciplineTrack, Road
Medal record
Men's para cycling
Representing  Great Britain
Summer Paralympics
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Road race C1–3
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Individual pursuit C3
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Road race C1–3
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris Individual pursuit C3
Road World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Baie-Comeau Road race C3
Gold medal – first place 2023 Glasgow Road race C3
Gold medal – first place 2024 Zurich Road race C3
Silver medal – second place 2022 Baie-Comeau Time trial C3
Silver medal – second place 2023 Glasgow Time trial C3
Silver medal – second place 2024 Zurich Time trial C3
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Cascais Road race C3
Track World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Scratch race C3
Gold medal – first place 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Individual pursuit C3
Gold medal – first place 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Omnium C3
Gold medal – first place 2023 Glasgow Individual pursuit C3
Silver medal – second place 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Time trial C3
Silver medal – second place 2023 Glasgow Time trial C3
Silver medal – second place 2023 Glasgow Scratch race C3
Silver medal – second place 2023 Glasgow Omnium C3
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Rio de Janeiro Time trial C3
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Rio de Janeiro Omnium C3
European Road Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Upper Austria Road race C3
Silver medal – second place 2022 Upper Austria Time trial C3

Early and personal life

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Graham grew up in the Scottish Borders and later Strathpeffer in the Scottish Highlands.[1] He attended nearby Dingwall Academy.[2] He has a younger brother, Rory.[3] Graham was born with bilateral club feet and has limited calf muscle and little-to-no movement in his ankles.[1] In 2017, aged 18, Graham was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus.[4]

He started mountain biking at a young age at Glentress. He later competed in the Strathpuffer – a 24-hour mountain bike race in Strathpeffer – several times, including racing it solo at the age of 16.[1] In 2016, having watched the paracycling at the Rio Paralympic Games on television, Graham attended a British Cycling talent identification day in Derby. He caught the attention of the coaches and was selected for the Great Britain Cycling Team development programme at the age of 17.[1][5] He has lived and trained in Manchester, the home of British Cycling, since 2018.[6]

Career

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2017

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In 2017, Graham competed at his first National Para-cycling Road Championships, claiming the C3 road race title and finishing second in the C3 time trial.[7][8] He additionally medalled in track cycling at the Manchester Paracycling International Meeting in November, taking a silver medal in the mixed team sprint alongside Blaine Hunt and Ben Watson.[9]

2018

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In 2018, Graham won his first national track cycling title in the C3 time trial; he also took a silver medal in the C3 individual pursuit.[10] At the National Road Championships in June he defended his road race title and again finished second in the time trial.[11] His performances until this point meant that he was selected for his first Road World Championships, in Maniago, Italy, where he finished eighth in the C3 road race and eleventh in the C3 time trial.[12] In an Instagram post shared on 19 October 2018, Graham shared that he had become a full-time professional cyclist with the British Cycling programme.[13][14]

2019

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Graham added two national track titles to his collection in 2019, winning golds in the C3 time trial and the C3 individual pursuit.[15] At his debut Track World Championships in March, he finished fourth in the individual pursuit, fifth in the time trial and sixth in the scratch race.[16] At the National Road Championships in July he again defended his road race title and took silver in the time trial.[17][18]

2020

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Though the cycling season was severely disrupted in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Track World Championships in Milton, Canada, in January were able to go ahead before restrictions were put in place. Graham left with similar results to 2019: fifth in the individual pursuit, sixth in the time trial, and seventh in the scratch race.[19]

2021

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Graham competed at the 2021 Road World Championships in Cascais, Portugal, coming away with a bronze in the road race. In the time trial he finished fifth.[20] On 15 July 2021 Graham was announced as a member of the ParalympicsGB cycling squad that would be competing at the postponed Tokyo Games.[21] Here he medalled both in the velodrome and on the road, taking home silver medals in the individual pursuit and the C1-3 road race. He was beaten to gold medals by his GB teammates in both events: by Benjamin Watson on the road, and Jaco van Gass on the track.[22][23] He additionally finished in a close fourth place in the C3 road time trial.[24]

2022

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He carried this success from his debut Paralympics through into the 2022 season. At the National Track Championships in March, he won the C3 time trial, the C3 individual pursuit and the C3 scratch race.[25] He competed at two UCI Para Road World Cup events – in Ostend and Elzach – in May, winning both the C3 road race and C3 time trial at both events.[26] At the UEC European Road Championships later that month, Graham won silver in the time trial and gold in the road race, making him a European Champion for the first time.[27][28] He replicated these results later in the year at the Road World Championships in Baie-Comeau, Canada.[29][30] At the National Road Championships, he did the double for the first time, winning the time trial and the road race.[31] In October he competed at the Track World Championships in St-Quentin-en-Yvelines and took home four medals: three golds in the individual pursuit, omnium and scratch race, and a silver in the time trial.[32]

2023

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Success continued for Graham on the road and track throughout his 2023 season. At the National Track Championships in January, he defended all three of his titles (in the time trial, individual pursuit and scratch race).[33] He competed at every UCI Para Cycling Road World Cup meet, in Maniago, Ostend and Huntsville. He medalled in all six of his events (one time trial and one road race per meet), winning all but the Maniago road race, in which he took silver, beaten only by GB teammate Jaco van Gass.[34] Van Gass would prove to be a consistent rival throughout the season. At the Track World Championships in Glasgow in August, Graham won gold in the individual pursuit. He took silvers in the time trial, scratch race and omnium, each of which was won by Van Gass.[35] At the Road World Championships in Dumfries & Galloway a week later, Graham won the road race but was second in the time trial, which was narrowly won by Matthias Schindler with a margin of less than two seconds.[36][37]

2024

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Graham competed at the 2024 National Track Championships in February, defending his individual pursuit title and taking silver in the time trial.[38][39] The following month, at the Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, he won three medals: a silver in the individual pursuit (beaten only by teammate and close rival Jaco van Gass) and two bronzes in the time trial and the omnium.[40][41][42] On 22 July 2024 it was announced that Graham would be competing at the Paris Paralympic Games, his second Paralympics.[43] He competed in one event in the velodrome, the C3 individual pursuit, and came away with a silver medal – GB teammate Van Gass won gold.[44][45] On the road, Graham rode in both the C1-3 road race and the C3 time trial. In the time trial he finished sixth.[46] Three days later, in the road race, he claimed his first Paralympic gold, beating Frenchman Thomas Peyroton-Dartet in a sprint to the finish line.[47][48] At the Road World Championships in Zurich later that month, Graham successfully defended his C3 world road race title and again won silver in the C3 time trial, bested only by Florian Bouziani.[49][50]

Major results

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2017
National Para-cycling Road Championships
1st   C3 Road Race
2nd   C3 Time Trial
2018
National Para-cycling Track Championships
1st   C3 Time Trial
2nd   C3 Individual Pursuit
National Para-cycling Road Championships
1st   C3 Road Race
2nd   C3 Time Trial
2019
National Para-cycling Track Championships
1st   C3 Time Trial
1st   C3 Individual Pursuit
National Para-cycling Road Championships
1st   C3 Road Race
2nd   C3 Time Trial
2021
Paralympic Games
2nd   C3 Individual Pursuit
2nd   C1-3 Road Race
UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships
3rd   C3 Road Race
2022
UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships
1st   C3 Individual Pursuit
1st   C3 Omnium
1st   C3 Scratch Race
2nd   C3 Time Trial
UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships
1st   C3 Road Race
2nd   C3 Time Trial
UEC European Para-Cycling Road Championships
1st   C3 Road Race
2nd   C3 Time Trial
National Para-cycling Track Championships
1st   C3 Time Trial
1st   C3 Individual Pursuit
1st   C3 Scratch Race
National Para-cycling Road Championships
1st   C3 Road Race
1st   C3 Time Trial
2023
UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships
1st   C3 Individual Pursuit
2nd   C3 Scratch Race
2nd   C3 Time Trial
2nd   C3 Omnium
UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships
1st   C3 Road Race
2nd   C3 Time Trial
National Para-cycling Track Championships
1st   C3 Time Trial
1st   C3 Individual Pursuit
1st   C3 Scratch Race
National Para-cycling Road Championships
1st   C3 Road Race
2024
Paralympic Games
1st   C1-3 Road Race
2nd   C3 Individual Pursuit
UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships
1st   C3 Road Race
2nd   C3 Time Trial
UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships
2nd   C3 Individual Pursuit
3rd   C3 Time Trial
3rd   C3 Omnium
National Para-cycling Track Championships
1st   C3 Individual Pursuit
2nd   C3 Time Trial

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Meeting the new wave in para-cycling: Fin Graham's strong start to 2022". UCI. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Paralympic gold medallist visits his old school". BBC. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  3. ^ Sweeney, Val (23 June 2018). "Teen cyclist is a step closer to his dream". Ross-shire Journal. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Para-cyclist Fin Graham targets Road World Championships success". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  5. ^ Sweeney, Val (11 September 2024). "Highland paracyclist Fin Graham's parents say 'don't focus on the disability' while elated by Paralympic success". The Inverness Courier. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  6. ^ Statham, Nick (22 April 2021). "Paralympic hopeful urges people to take up Covid jab offer after getting his vaccine". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Fin Graham". British Cycling. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  8. ^ "British Cycling National Paracycling Road Circuit Race Championships – Closed Circuit, Rhyl – Sunday, 23 July 2017". British Cycling. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  9. ^ "2017 Manchester Paracycling International". British Cycling. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Results: British Track Championships". VeloUK. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Double gold for Bate and Duggleby at National Para-cycling Road Championships". British Cycling. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  12. ^ "UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships". British Cycling. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Fin Graham on Instagram". Instagram. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Fin Graham named in Great Britain Cycling Team for UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup in Ostend". British Cycling. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Para Riders deliver at British Track Cycling Championships 2019". Scottish Disability Sport. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  16. ^ "UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships – Apeldoorn". 14 March 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  17. ^ "British Paracycling Road Race Championships". British Cycling. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  18. ^ "British Paracycling Time Trial Championships – Men and Women". British Cycling. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  19. ^ "UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships – Milton". UCI. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  20. ^ "2021 Para-cycling Road World Championships – Official Book of Results" (PDF). RSS Timing. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  21. ^ "ParalympicsGB confirms Para-cycling team for Tokyo 2020". British Cycling. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Tokyo Paralympics: Scots Fin Graham and Aileen McGlynn take cycling silvers for Paralympics GB". BBC. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  23. ^ "Tokyo Paralympics: Fin Graham and Sammi Kinghorn add to medals as Gordon Reid falls short". BBC. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Results Archive – Tokyo 2020 – Cycling – Men's Time Trial C3". Paralympics. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  25. ^ "2022 National Track Championships". British Cycling. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  26. ^ "2022 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup". UCI. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  27. ^ "UEC Para-Cycling Road European Championships – Road Race Results" (PDF). UEC. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  28. ^ "UEC Para-Cycling Road European Championships – Time Trial Results" (PDF). UEC. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  29. ^ "Graham and Holl power their way to world titles". British Cycling. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  30. ^ "Three rainbow jerseys for Great Britain at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships". British Cycling. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  31. ^ "World Champion Fin Graham claims double golds at National Para-cycling Championships". British Cycling. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  32. ^ "Great Britain celebrates most successful UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships ever". British Cycling. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Track results: British Track Championship Results (Para)". VeloUK. 29 January 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  34. ^ "2023 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup". UCI. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  35. ^ "UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships – 2023 Results Book" (PDF). RSS Timing. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  36. ^ "2023 UCI Cycling World Championships – Para-Cycling Road – Men C3 Road Race". archive.tissottiming.com. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  37. ^ "2023 UCI Cycling World Championships – Para-Cycling Road – Men C3 Individual Time Trial". archive.tissottiming.com. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  38. ^ "Perrett retains points title as Bell dominates on day two of British National Track Championships". British Cycling. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  39. ^ "Mitchell crowned comeback king on first day of British National Track Championships". British Cycling. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  40. ^ "Men's C3 Individual Pursuit Final Results". Velo Results. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  41. ^ "Men's C3 1km Time Trial Final Results". Velo Results. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  42. ^ "Men's C3 Omnium Results". Velo Results. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  43. ^ "ParalympicsGB cycling squad announced for Paris 2024 Paralympic Games". ParalympicsGB. 22 July 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  44. ^ "Van Gass wins cyclings gold days after car accident". BBC. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  45. ^ "Para Cycling Track: Men's C3 3000m Individual Pursuit Finals Results". Olympics. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  46. ^ "Para Cycling Road: Men's C3 Individual Time Trial Results". Olympics. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  47. ^ "Para Cycling Road: Men's C1-3 Road Race Results". Olympics. 7 September 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  48. ^ "Graham wins road race to take GB's 43rd gold". BBC. 7 September 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  49. ^ Warwick, Matt (26 September 2024). "GB's Ferguson wins junior road race & Graham C3 title". BBC. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  50. ^ "GB's Ferguson, Barrow and Brown win world titles". BBC. 24 September 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
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