Eight years after the sensational gold in Rio de Janeiro, Jenny Rissveds is back on the Olympic Games podium.
The mountain bike star took bronze in the Paris Olympic Games, but the road there has been anything but straightforward.
+ Rio 2016 – the big breakthrough
In the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the then 22-year-old Jenny Rissveds made a breakthrough on an August day. She was the youngest in the starting field and the coaches thought the focus was on the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, but Rissveds herself thought differently.
Despite injuries, a crash a few days before the race, and a broken chain, the Swede cycled home the Olympic gold. One of the most surprising Swedish Olympic gold medals in modern times. She had trouble holding back tears during the medal ceremony.
I'm a very emotional person. I thought about everything I've been through before this and thought about everyone back home, said Jenny Rissveds.
+ Depression and eating disorders
The year after the Olympic gold, Rissveds took a break. She was away for almost two years while she struggled with depression, eating disorders, and exhaustion.
She was back on the bike saddle in 2019 when she made a comeback in the World Cup and before the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021, she talked about her tough time.
I've grown a lot as a person. There have been many setbacks, but I've grown enormously from it, which I'm grateful for today, she said before the games in Japan.
+ Second Olympic start – but far from a medal
Rissveds finished 14th in Tokyo, but was not disappointed. The Olympic gold in Brazil had rather been a burden to carry than something positive.
It's hardly that I have a name anymore, they've called me the gold medalist and I haven't enjoyed that role and the spotlight. I hope it's over and I can focus more on myself and what I like about the sport, said Rissveds.
+ Takes Olympic bronze in Paris
In her third Olympic start, the 30-year-old from Falun is back on the Olympic podium. There was nothing to do about home favorite Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who cycled home the gold in superior style. Behind her, Rissveds fought a battle with Haley Batten, but in the end, the American went ahead and took the silver before the bronze medalist from Sweden.
