PARALYMPIC triathlete Alison Patrick added to her Rio silver medal by winning silver and bronze at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships.
The talented Dunfermline star, whose CV also includes world and European triathlon titles, stepped off the bike and onto the podium during the final two days of the event in Los Angeles.
I have had such a fun adventure with @Scottie2507 over the last 8 weeks and to finish with 🥈in the sprint is awesome!!
— Alison Patrick (@ali_p87) March 6, 2017
Alison, who was voted as Dunfermline and West Fife Sports Council's Sports Personality of the Year last month, was one of six tandems selected by Great Britain to ride at the event that took place from Thursday until yesterday, and was confirmed with just seven weeks' notice.
The 29-year-old, who is visually impaired, teamed up with pilot Helen Scott and produced a superb performance in the women's tandem 1k time trial on Saturday.
After Aileen McGlynn and Louise Haston were first to take to the track and set a time of 1.11.089, Patrick and Scott were next up and came up just short of the target time, clocking 1.11.115.
Sophie Thornhill and Corrine Hall were the last pair to ride and the individual pursuit champions claimed their second title with a time of 1.09.552, ensuring a bronze medal for Patrick and Scott.
Pretty cool to come away with a medal but most importantly a huge PB! @Scottie2507 is a good teacher! #progress #bronze https://t.co/GvRHZqP1Lu
— Alison Patrick (@ali_p87) March 5, 2017
The West Fifer and her pilot were back in the saddle yesterday for the women's tandem sprint competition.
Australia's Jessica Gallagher and Stefanie Prieksa set the early pace with a time of 11.327, with Patrick and Scott closest to them by clocking 11.514.
They then overcame McGlynn and Haston to set up a final with fellow team-mates Thornhill and Hall, but they proved too strong as Patrick and Scott picked up a silver medal.
On Twitter, Patrick said: "I have had such a fun adventure with @Scottie2507 over the last 8 weeks and to finish with in the sprint is awesome!!"
Speaking to Press Sport ahead of the Championships, Patrick said that she has more to give in triathlon and has set her stall out to go for gold in Tokyo in 2020 - but not before she has a shot at representing Scotland on the bike at the Commonwealth Games.
Alison was named as West Fife's Sports Personality of the Year after her exploits in Rio but, after also riding at the the British Cycling National Track Championships in January, as aspirations of pedalling on the Gold Coast next year.
She said: "I’ve not switched to cycling; I’m just doing it to help my triathlon bike section and to explore the possibility of going to the Commonwealth Games next year. It would be really cool to represent Scotland but the events available are the sprint events, so are not my strengths. I’m heading to the World Championships so we’ll see how it goes.
"I still feel I’m new to triathlon with so much more potential so a gold medal in Tokyo would definitely be amazing!"
Reflecting on her journey to Rio and her medal success, Alison felt she could have won gold but continued: "I was an international runner as a junior and into my first years at university but I struggled with injury. When I moved back to Scotland in 2012, I joined a triathlon club to meet new people and to get active again. After doing some local triathlons I turned to British triathlon for further advice and was invited to a talent day in November 2013, and my first international season was in 2014.
"The atmosphere was incredible on race day; a day I’ll never forget. The last bit of my journey felt rushed because I was injured and had six weeks out but we had a great race. For me, there was mixed emotions as the heat got the better of me, and what I thought should have been gold wasn’t.
"But with time to reflect, I did the best that I could in the conditions. The whole of Paralympics GB did amazing and it’s exciting to see disabled sport growing and becoming more competitive."
Has a triathlete ever won🥈in tandem sprint?!Super proud of my diesel engine @ali_p87 today,mainly for letting me throw her round the track👊🏻
— Helen Scott MBE (@Scottie2507) March 5, 2017
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article