Archie Atkinson cherishes Paralympic silver despite gold slipping just out of reach

Heaton Moor cyclist Archie Atkinson cherished Paralympic silver despite gold slipping out of his grasp.

The 20-year-old smashed the 4km pursuit world record by five seconds and looked nailed on for gold with less than a minute of the final to go.

But Atkinson was pushing so hard with two laps and less than a minute to go that he agonisingly lost control on the top bend, collapsing into a heap at the bottom of the track.

Slovakia’s Jozef Metelka was left to coast home while Atkinson hobbled around the track, helped by medical staff, as chants of ‘Archie’ rang around the velodrome.

“I dug as deep as I’ve ever dug and it showed,” said Atkinson, who vomited during a post-race interview. “I just ran out of energy and went down.”

“I’m so proud, so happy. A world record and a silver medal, I wouldn’t have believed that in my wildest dream.”

The youngster, who has cerebral palsy, ADHD and is autistic, was relentlessly teased by school bullies who even filmed him playing football and mockingly posted it on social media.

Atkinson joined the Paralympic squad in 2021 after a chance encounter with Tokyo gold medallist Ben Watson while out on a ride with his Dad, a senior figure at Evans Cycles.

He won the scratch race world title in Glasgow in 2023 and dedicated it to close friend Magnus White, an American cyclist, who died a few days earlier.

Atkinson has a sticker saying ‘Ride for Maggie’ on his bike frame and he looked down at it as the ultimate source of inspiration while riding for gold.

The youngest member of the ParalympicsGB cycling squad, Atkinson said he had two aims in Paris: break the world record and win gold and he has achieved one of those goals.

Atkinson’s silver was the ninth medal won by ParalympicsGB in