Nicole Murray of Team New Zealand
September 6 11am
Ngāhinapōuri’s Nicole Murray, 31, has withdrawn from her final Para cycling race at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games tonight due to illness.
The Paralympic bronze medallist had been due to start in the C4-5 Road Race.
Murray narrowly missed the bronze medal ride in the C4-5 500m Time Trial, placing 5th before placing 4th in the C5 Individual Time Trial on the road.
Nicole Murray.
September 4 – 5.45pm
Cambridge track and road para cyclist Devon Briggs has made the difficult decision to withdraw from his final two events of the Paralympic Games – the Men’s C3 Individual Time Trial and Men’s C1-3 Road Race.
World champion para cyclist Devon Briggs, home from his Rio de Janeiro triumph with a concussion earlier this year. Photo: Viv Posselt
Briggs competed in his first two events of these Games with a fractured sacrum and dislocated coccyx which he suffered in a crash in his final training session in Switzerland.
The 20-year-old Cambridge-based athlete showed extraordinary courage and determination to get to the start line for his track races, eventually placing fifth in the Men’s C3 3000m Individual Pursuit and seventh in the Men’s C1-3 1000m Time Trial.However, as Briggs is more of a track specialist, and with the support of his medical team he has decided to withdraw from the C3 Individual Time Trial and Men’s C1-3 Road Race, and instead look forward to returning home to begin his rehabilitation and recovery from his injuries.
New Zealand Paralympic Team Chef de Mission, Raylene Bates, said the wider team were incredibly proud of Devon and understood and supported his decision.
“Devon has been an exemplary member of the NZ Paralympic Team in Paris,” she said “To be able to compete to the level that he did, with the injuries he suffered, is a true testament to his character.
“Devon’s grit and determination to compete was incredible and we are extremely proud of the way he has represented himself, his team and his country at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
“We look forward to seeing Devon return to full fitness and continue to excel in the sport of Para cycling.”
September 4 10am
Waipā’s four cyclists have had mixed fortunes at the Paralympic Games in Paris and a pre-games accident ruined the chances for two of them.
Cambridge News 5 September 2024
Anna Taylor won silver on day two in the women’s C4 3000m individual pursuit. The 33-year-old, who was raised in Taupō, boarded at St Peter’s School and now lives in Cambridge, picked up the New Zealand team’s first medal on Saturday.
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 30: Anna Taylor of Team New Zealand reacts after finishing second in the Women’s C4 3000m Individual Pursuit Final on day two of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome on August 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images for PNZ)
Ngāhinapōuri’s Nicole Murray, 31, claimed a brilliant bronze in the women’s C5 3000m individual pursuit on Monday morning. The 31-year-old Cambridge-based cyclist, who had set a national record at 3:37.599 in qualification, went even faster in the final to record a time of 3:36.206 to claim a comprehensive victory over Italy’s Claudia Cretti.
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 29: Nicole Murray of Team New Zealand
competes during the Women’s C4-5 500m Time Trial – Qualifying on day one of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome on August 29, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
But Ben Westenberg, 19, – brought up in Tauranga and now based in Cambridge – withdrew before competition started after he and Cambridge-born Devon Briggs were involved in an accident at their training camp in Switzerland.
Officials monitored Westenberg’s condition under concussion protocols and withdrew him on Friday.
Will Palmer/SWpix.com – 03/08/2023 – Track & Para Track Cycling – 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships – Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, Glasgow, Scotland – Men C4 Omnium, 200m Time Trial – Benjamin Westenberg of New Zealand
Briggs, 20, was a hot favourite to take gold in the C3 3000m individual pursuit on day two – an event he was world record holder in – before the accident which saw him admitted to a Swiss hospital with pelvic injuries.
He finished fifth fastest and the following day was seventh fastest in the men’s C1-3 1000m time trial. Neither result was good enough to qualify him for the finals.
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 30: Devon Briggs of New Zealand competes in the C3 3000m individual pursuit on day two of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome on August 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images for PNZ)
