Paris Olympics 2024: WA cyclists Conor Leahy, Oliver Bleddyn and Sam Welsford help deliver team pursuit gold

Most grassroots sporting clubs around Australia would be blessed and grateful to watch just one of their own scale the Olympic podium to claim gold. But Peel District Cycle Club is celebrating two Olympic champions in their midst, after childhood friends Conor Leahy and Oliver Bleddyn helped deliver Australia’s first cycling gold of the Games on Thursday. The Peel products, alongside fellow West Australian Sam Welsford and Kelland O’Brien, backed up a world record in the heats to outlast Great Britain in a tense team pursuit final at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome. The see-sawing pursuit saw the lead change hands multiple times, but the Australians held strong down the stretch to claim their seventeenth gold medal in France. For Leahy and Bleddyn, who joined their local club a decade ago, it was a medal earned in Paris but forged in Peel. The pair were coached in their early days at Peel by Athens Olympics team pursuit gold medallist Peter Dawson, who was there in Paris, and the duo would routinely make the one-hour trek from Secret Harbour to the city to train during the week while balancing school studies. Peel District president Mark Glorie said Leahy and Bleddyn’s talent stood out from an early age. “I was already 30 years-old when they joined the team; the last time I was able to beat them on a bike, they were 14 years old,” he said. “As soon as they’re getting to that point, you could see that they’d got a very bright future ahead. “They rose through the grades and once they were winning A-Grade races against people who were five years their senior, then they start getting identified by WAIS. “From there, they both after high school made the move to Adelaide to join the elite team.” Glorie paid tribute to the pair and said the club was delighted to see their years of hard work pay off in the form of Olympic glory. “When they were juniors, they were racing with us every couple of weeks. They’re both very laid back guys, loving having a laugh, but they’re certainly not big-headed about themselves; they’re very down to earth,” he said. “Everyone’s just over the moon and happy for them. You think about all of those early morning training rides, all those sessions on the indoor trainer late at night, all of the gym hours that they would have put in, and it’s all peaked at this point.” Up the freeway, Northern Beaches Cycling Club are also celebrating, with former junior Welsford completing his set of Olympic medals after bronze in Tokyo and a silver in Paris in the same event. Northern Beaches president Chris Howard said he was unable to go back to sleep upon the completion of the 12.30am (WST) race, such was the adrenaline hit it delivered. “We’re just excited for Sam and his family as much as anything else. When you know how hard he works and how dedicated his family has been, you just well up with pride for them,” he said. “Sam originally had his development through the Northern Districts Cycling Club. Unfortunately, that folded many years ago, but I first spied Sam Welsford out at the Midvale velodrome and immediately, he’d catch your eye with his speed and his power. “Whenever I’ve met him and particularly his family, they have always been friendly and receptive to us and thankfully, they’ve adopted us as their club, which we are forever grateful.” Bleddyn and Welsford will both return to the track for the omnium and Madison, while fellow West Australian Matthew Richardson has the keirin and sprint to come after a bronze medal in the team sprint.