PARIS, France — American cyclist Chloe Dygert said her bronze medal in the women's individual time trial wasn't the color she'd hoped for after she crashed during the race, but she's staying positive ahead of her next two events at the Summer Olympics.
Dygert, who lives and trains in Colorado Springs, was the prerace favorite. She was the second U.S. athlete to win a medal in these Games, and the first Coloradan.
She overcame a career-threatening injury only to deal with an Achilles injury and a bout of COVID-19 earlier this year.
"Everybody shows up to win a gold medal," she said in an interview with 9NEWS reporter Matt Renoux. "That's been my goal since my accident, since Tokyo. I'm really bummed. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to sit here and say that it's what I wanted, but this is just God's plan."
She said there was never a time during the race when she thought about quitting.
"I could have very easily just stopped," she said. "I could have given up. I could have just rode easy to the finish line. I still tried to give everything I could to see where I could finish. The girls who were ahead of me had a great day. It was a fantastic ride from them both."
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Dygert came in behind Australian Grace Brown and Anna Henderson of Great Britain in the race on the wet and treacherous streets of Paris on Saturday.
She said hopes to get another shot at gold in that event in four years, when the Summer Olympics come to Los Angeles.
She has two more races in these Games: Road Race in road cycling on Aug. 4 and Team Pursuit in track cycling on Aug. 6.
As for what's next, Dygert said she's going to stay positive.
"I'm going to say my prayers," she said. "I'm going to see my family, have some fun. I'm going to enjoy my time here in Paris and really take in what it means to be an Olympian, what it means to represent the United States."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.