Olympic champion Jennifer Valente (USA) maintained her focus throughout the four women's omnium races on the final day of the 2024 Paris Olympics to win gold again.

Valente's gold medal was her fifth Olympic medal in total won through three Games and her second gold medal in Paris; she won silver in team pursuit at the 2016 Rio Olympics and silver and gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"It couldn't be more amazing and I'm super, super happy and excited," Valente said. [Each Olympic medal win is tackled uniquely, setting your sights on the race and doing what you can to prepare. That's how you choose a competition, focus on that competition, and target what you are trying to accomplish."

"Each Olympic medal is a unique process, a unique journey.

"My race strategy on the final day of the Olympics was to keep my cool in the hot velodrome.

"Staying cool and not overheating was a big point, but as far as racing goes, it was basically about treating each race as independent, swinging from one race to the next and resetting for the next," Valente said.

After finishing first in the scratch race and second in the tempo race, Valente led the entire elimination race, knocking off his competitors one by one. By finishing first in the third event, she added 40 points to her tally, extending her lead over Australia's Georgia Baker to 10 points.

The American rider knew that anything could happen in the chaotic final race, the points race.

"An omnium is certainly not over until it's all over, and a group race is unpredictable and a lot can happen. There are crashes, there are laps lost, and the leaderboard changes a little bit every time a point is scored. So you have to keep evaluating what's going on."

After the first sprint of the points race, which brought him five points, Valente closely monitored Baker, who had closed the gap. With less than 50 laps to go, several riders were lapped, each earning 20 points. Feeling impatient, Valente made a bold move and joined the pack, lapping more riders and adding 20 points to his tally. Valente now has 144 points and the Olympic title.

While Daria Pikulik (Poland) and Allie Wollaston (New Zealand) compete on the road for the Women's WorldTour team, Valente sees herself primarily as a track racer.

"I think most of my competitors are track racers, whether they come from road racing, cyclocross, mountain biking, or any other discipline. [The track is very unique, there is a lot of speed and a lot of things happen. You can go as hard as you can into the curves and feel yourself being pushed by the track, feel the speed, feel everything.

Asked if he plans to compete in Los Angeles in 2028, Valente replied: "Right now I'm going to rush to the closing ceremonies. That's all I can think about."