Can a mum-of-three really chase Olympic gold? Cyclist Ciara Oliva says she has unfinished business.
The former European champion and world bronze medalist stepped away for almost ten years, now raising three kids with fellow rider Lewis.
Missing the Rio 2016 squad left the 37‑year‑old restless; she refused to let the dream die.
She re‑emerged at the Commonwealth Games, grabbing a bronze for Wales in the women’s team pursuit – just the beginning.
“It felt like pure magic, my favorite international medal, winning bronze with the girls while my children watched. It was a fairytale ending,” she recalled.
“But there’s unfinished business and I’ll chase my Olympic dream one last time,” she declared.
Oliva first entered the Great Britain program back in 2014.
She added a 2016 World Championship bronze and two European titles in the team pursuit to her résumé.
When Rio 2016 arrived, she was relegated to reserve status.
Laura Kenny, Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker and Joanna Rowsell took the Olympic team pursuit and shattered the world record for gold.
“They were the fastest team,” she admits. “They won gold.”
“I had to watch from the sidelines and it broke my heart,” she says.
Oliva hung up her bike in 2018, becoming a physiotherapist, convinced her career was over.
Cycling chatter still reached her, but the Olympics felt like a distant echo she couldn’t discuss.
After seeing Helen Glover’s documentary, tears fell and she realized she wasn’t done yet.
A tiny voice urged her to give it one more crack.
Now training with her family watching, the journey feels more special than she ever imagined.
Dreaming of the Games is one thing.
Getting back into elite training with a baby and two preschoolers is another challenge entirely.
Less than two years ago she hinted to close friends she might retire again.
“Are you crazy?” they replied. “Are you sure? You’re sleep‑deprived!”
She believes they understand how much the Olympics mean to her.
Returning to the GB squad feels like the ultimate honor, a team effort with husband Lewis and the kids’ grandparents.
Lewis’s parents even joined a training camp in Italy, letting the whole family train together.
Their support truly pushes her forward.
Just being back among Britain’s elite cyclists is a huge feat given the depth of today’s women’s endurance squad.
Last month Britain clinched gold in the women’s team pursuit at the Track World Championships.
Millie Couzens then secured a GB one‑two in the individual pursuit, while Anna Morris left with three golds.
Oliva admits making the Los Angeles cut will be a tall order.
But reaching this point was a tall order itself.
Balancing two school‑age kids and a toddler makes training a puzzle.
She squeezes indoor turbo sessions into nap time, sometimes pushing it to ten at night.
In this second act, strength work dominates her program.
She targets former weak spots, emerging faster and stronger than ever.
Her young family fuels an unprecedented drive.
Her eldest daughter is her biggest fan, she says.
“Yesterday she held my GB kit with pride. I told her I’d worked hard to earn it, and she replied, ‘I see it every day.’”
“Chase your dreams and shout them loud. It can be scary, the ‘what if you don’t make it?’”
“But what if you do?”
Oliva has walked this road before, yet never like this.
She’s determined this chapter ends with a happy Olympic finish.