Olympics 2024: Former Bedford School boy Ethan Vernon celebrates after taking silver in Team Pursuit
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Ethan, joined by teammates Ethan Hayter, Ollie Wood and Dan Bigham were narrowly beaten by Australia in a thrilling final, with less than three tenths separating the teams in the 4km race, until the last lap when Hayter lost control of his bike and Australia won by 2.327 seconds.
The silver is Great Britain's 1000th medal at a Summer and Winter Olympics in the modern era, which began in 1896.
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Hide Ad"It was there for the taking for us today, and we kind of knew that. We went out there to get it but just came short in the end. It's a shame," Hayter told the BBC.


Ethan started Bedford School in 2007 aged seven and left in 2018. His first major event was at the young age of 17 whilst still at school, when he represented Team Wales at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. During this time, he was studying for his A-levels in maths, geography, and design technology.
Since then, Ethan has been instrumental in securing Team GB’s position as a formidable force in track cycling. After a stellar season that saw him win a World Championship team title in 2022 and individual gold a year later, Ethan was more than ready to take to the Olympic stage for the second time. His versatility and skill have been evident as he transitioned from being a successful track cyclist to a professional road racer, competing in his first Grand Tour at the Giro d’Italia earlier this year for the Israel Premiertech Pro Cycling team.
Exactly 100 years ago in the very same city that two Bedford School alumni won gold at the 1924 Paris Olympics, contributing to the school’s tally of 12 Olympic medals in total.
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Hide AdTrack and field athlete Old Bedfordian Harold Abrahams (who attended the school between 1908 and 13) won the blue riband event of the 1924 Paris Olympics – the 100-metre sprint in a time of 10.6 seconds, a feat depicted in the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire. Harold also went on to win a second Olympic medal at those games, a silver as the opening runner for the 4 x 100m team.