Grace Brown has won Australia’s first medal at the Olympics, taking home gold in the women’s individual time trial.
The 32-year-old blitzed the field in wet and rainy conditions to seal the first medal of her career in what will be her last Olympics.
Brown finished fourth in Tokyo, but nothing was stopping her from claiming gold in this race.
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Starting second last in the 35-strong field, Brown immediately looked the one to beat with a blistering first split of the 32.4km course.
She was 20 seconds better than any other competitor before her, while No.1-ranked American Chloe Dygert — the only rider behind Brown — was five seconds off the pace at the 13.1km mark.
By the second split, Brown was 50 seconds clear of her nearest rival and when Dygert fell behind her, the gold was hers for the taking.
Brown kept her blistering pace up, putting even more distance between her and the field.
She stopped the clock at 39:38.24, a staggering 91 seconds ahead of Briton Anna Henderson in second place.
Dygert, who was clearly hampered by her fall, was a further second behind Henderson to take bronze.
Brown becomes the first Australian in history to win gold in the time trial.
“I had a plan to pace the race to win gold and I was able to execute my plan pretty much to perfection, if not better,” she told Nine after the race.
“Can’t ask for a better day. Like, it’s raining, but really, it’s not dampening my spirits.
“It’s a bit surreal.”
When asked if she’d consider reversing her retirement decision, Brown wasn’t having any second thoughts.
“It just makes me really proud of everything that I’ve done. And like I, I know that I’ve come here and given it everything and it’s paid off. I can finish my career really satisfied,” she said.