ELANCOURT, France (AP) — Hayley Batten Olympic mountain bike judges She was fined for violating rules on the final lap of Sunday’s race, but will no doubt be happy to pay the modest fine since her silver medal was the best ever result for an American athlete.
Batten was battling for second place with Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds. She was far behind the eventual winner, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.Batten was involved in the incident while passing through designated lanes for receiving food and drink or stopping for mechanical problems, but after reviewing the video, judges determined that Batten had not done either of these things and therefore breached the rules of the race.
She was fined 500 Swiss francs (about $565) for “failure to comply with the instructions of the race management or commissioner,” but officials apparently deemed her infraction not serious enough to merit disqualification.
That didn’t detract from a great day for Batten, who finished ninth at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
“Before Tokyo, I knew this was the race I would focus on,” she said. “I’d known for a long time that I could do well here, and Tokyo was no different. I wanted to be on the podium there, but to be honest, I wasn’t ready yet. I prepared more to put in my best performance to date. For me, preparation is all about the details, studying and building on each year.”
The 25-year-old from Park City, Utah, New talent in American mountain bikingThat includes teammate Sabiria Blank, 25, who placed 12th on Sunday, and Christopher Blevins, 26, and Riley Amos, 22, who will compete in Monday’s men’s race.
It was no surprise to see Batten in contention for the win at the Olympic mountain bike race on the Elancourt hill outside Paris, having proven herself to be one of the best in the world by winning the World Cup race in Araxá, Brazil, earlier this year.
But Batten has also had to overcome a concussion that forced her to miss last year’s world championships in Scotland, and a more recent minor Achilles injury sustained during the World Cup short track event in Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps.
Batten also had to overcome adversity in Sunday’s race. She punctured a tire, but was lucky to be close to a U.S. team mechanic who was able to quickly change the tire and get back in the race. Batten dropped to sixth place, but fought her way back, swapping places with Rissveds on the final lap, then pulled away to win the silver medal.
Her brother, Nash Batten, said he was in awe of watching his sister achieve her Olympic dream.
“I’ve been fortunate to have had her as a role model my whole life,” he said Sunday, “and now she’s going to be a role model for millions more people. It’s a true honor.”
The only other medals the U.S. has won are bronze medals by Susan DeMattee in 1996 and Georgia Gould in 2012.
“It’s really hard to perform in one day, and everyone who goes to the Olympics is the best in the world,” said Batten, whose coaches include three-time Olympic time trial champion Kristin Armstrong.
“Everybody’s strong, everybody’s healthy. Everybody’s well prepared and able to run at their best. So it’s great to be able to come out there with a clear head mentally, prepared and at their best, regardless of the challenges before or during the race.”
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Associated Press writer Hannah Schoenbaum contributed from Park City, Utah.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-Paris-Olympic-Games
