British superstar won 15th gold of her career but her absent family made the 43-year-old break down in tears in Tokyo
Dame Sarah Storey isn’t usually one for public displays of emotion. The 43-year-old has competed relentlessly for almost 30 years, across two sports and at eight Paralympic Games, but has rarely shown so much as a glimpse of vulnerability. But as she clasped her 15th gold medal in the Izu Velodrome on Wednesday, the thought of her absent family made her break down in tears.
“It’s hugely difficult being without them,” she said after her victory in the 3,000m individual pursuit. “It is really, really hard. You know, they are the biggest motivation. But now I can’t be with them and share it with them and after all of the things they put up with. They do so much to enable me to do this. I am hugely grateful to them.”