Olympics: Pooley Takes the Silver in Cycling Time Trial

Three days after sacrificing herself to help Nicole Cooke win the women's road race, Emma Pooley returned to the Great Wall of China to earn her own silver medal in the time trial, continuing what the British cycling team hope will turn into a shoal of medals.

The 25-year-old former Cambridge student, who was born in London but now lives in Zurich, where she is studying for a PhD in soil engineering, had been training specifically for this event. The fifth of 25 starters, she set an impressive time of 35min 16.01sec over the demanding 23.5km (14.8 mile) course and had to sit and watch as the world's best riders, racing against the clock, attempted to beat it.

The only one to do so, by a margin of 25 seconds, was Kristin Armstrong, a 35-year-old rider with the United States team. Armstrong has won medals in the time trial at the last three world championships, and took the title in 2006. Yesterday's bronze medal went to Karin Thurig of Switzerland, repeating her performance in Athens four years ago.

At 5ft 2in and 110lb, Pooley is a natural climber and is not built for the powerful, driving style favored by many exponents of this discipline. But while they labored up the climbs on their big gears in the stifling humidity that returned to the Ju Yong Pass yesterday, she was pedaling with a higher cadence and looking not only more comfortable but far faster.

"It's fantastic," Pooley said. "Gold would have been better but I'm not going to complain. I'm probably the most surprised person of all at the way I finished. You have a secret hope but you like to keep it a secret because it sounds so arrogant to say I can win a medal and then don't get one."

Cooke finished 15th, almost two and a half minutes behind the winner, and was so exhausted that she collapsed and lay down on the track within a few yards of crossing the line.