For some the Olympics are the toughest test of a sportsperson's ability, for cyclist Katie Archibald, it was a lot of fun, and she wants more of it.
The 27-year-old won Madison gold alongside Laura Kenny after taking silver in the women’s team pursuit, losing the title they won in Rio.
Archibald, who hails from Milngavie, has now turned her attention to October’s world championships but has one eye on Paris in three years’ time and regaining that team pursuit title.
The three-time Olympic medallist was at the National Squash Centre and Regional Arena Saturday to help inspire the next generation of sporting superstars or to encourage people to get active as part of the I Am Team GB Multi-Sports Day.
“First of all, I want to be there, if they'll have me, I'd love to be there. We've got our world championship in 10 weeks from now, so I’m still quite switched on for the time being of focussing on our goals.
“I’ll have a bit of time off in January and then that's really when the reset starts and Paris is really close on the horizon with the three-year gap, our qualification starts in August of next year for Olympic qualification.
A huge thank you to everybody who attended our #IAMTEAMGB event today.
— MCRactive Centres (@Better_Mcr) August 14, 2021
We couldn’t have had three more inspiring athletes with us than @_katiearchibald @ryanowens0 @BiancaW_tkd
Our families and staff have had such an amazing day. #MCRactive @Better_UK @GLL_UK pic.twitter.com/FVIfcMLpTo
“It sounds a bit silly to have only just got off the site, but it was so much fun I’d love to have the chance to do it all again.
“Team pursuit is the grounding anchor to the British Cycling team. It's the base that we form ourselves around and it’s the event I enjoy training for the most and being part of the team and having someone to drag you around training!
“We'd love to reset the balance and have another shot at gold.”
The I Am Team GB days offered free and fun sporting activities to help people get active, inspired by Team GB athletes and the Olympic Games.
Alongside the activities in Manchester, there was also free hero events at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, and the Olympic Stadium, plus a family fun day at Paulton Park, the home of Team GB’s newest recruit Peppa Pig, with other events took place all over the country last weekend.
Archibald was on hand to meet the families, show off her medals and encourage them to try the range of sports on offer.
“We are at the I Am Team GB event today, meeting so many kids, so many families, and they've all been trying so many sports.
“I'm obviously happy that we've got the balance bikes out here but there's also been basketball and squash and taekwondo and Bianca Walkden is here as well, so she's been an advocate for the taekwondo stuff.
Over 4,000 people attended the I Am Team GB Festival of Sport event at the London Olympic Stadium. This is added to the thousands more taking part in events across the country.
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 14, 2021
We hope you had as much fun as we did!! 🤩 🇬🇧
Supported by @ToyotaUK #GetUpGetActive #IAmTeamGB pic.twitter.com/XMDNqJYLAj
“It's one of those days to not be particular about what kids should try and just let me do a bit of everything and have fun and hold some Olympic medals as well.
“I think especially with COVID and everything that's been closed down I think it's been really important to try and tell everybody that these events are still happening and that there are still so many sports that kids can get involved with and so clubs.
“There are so many sports halls waiting for them to have fun in and I wanted to be down here having fun too!”
I Am Team GB is already a much-loved and successful mass participation event, having seen over one million people in the UK take part after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and welcome home the country’s history making athletes at their local sports clubs and community events.
The ‘Festival of Sport’ will harness the incredible stories of Team GB athletes in Tokyo to inspire people across the UK to ‘Get Up and Get Active’ at free and fun events held around the country across the weekend of August 14 and 15.
If you want to get involved; go to IAmTeamGB.com to find an event near you.
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