Emma Finucane was left speechless when Gethin Jones interrupted her live interview at the Commonwealth Games to ask her to carry the Welsh flag at the closing ceremony.
Jones, who has served as Team Wales' chef de mission for the Glasgow Games, made the request after Finucane won her fourth gold medal.
'Can I just borrow this mic?'
"Emma, before you go, can I just borrow this mic?" he said, giving her a hug. "Congratulations. Hello, history-maker!"
"I know you've had a busy week, but listen, we've got one job we'd like you to do for Team Wales, and that's this evening. Would you have the honour of carrying the flag to the closing ceremony and leading the team out this evening?"
"What?!" a stunned Finucane replied. "What? Me?"
"I think you might deserve it after four gold medals!" Jones replied.
"Are you sure? Oh, I honestly, I feel like I'm having a dream!" said Finucane. "Like I never thought I'd be carrying the Welsh flag in front of the home nation."
"This, honestly, riding for Wales has been one of the best weeks of my life - it would be an honour to do that. Thank you so much."
Historic four golds
Finucane's fourth gold came in the women's keirin at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on Sunday, where she held off New Zealand's Olympic champion Ellesse Andrews. The win made her the first sprint cyclist to claim four gold medals at the same Commonwealth Games, following victories in the team sprint, individual sprint and the 1,000 metres time-trial.
She was also part of the Great Britain team sprint quartet that won Olympic gold at Paris 2024.
Emotional tribute
Jones paid tribute to the Carmarthen native, saying: "You've been in this bubble, I know you have. I know how close you are as a team and the training camp in Newport and coming here."
"But you might now know this, but the whole nation's been behind you and your performance has been such a positive impact on everyone at home."
"The world is a strange place at the moment, and you brought a lot of joy to the people. I hope you know that."
Looking ahead
Reflecting on her achievements, Finucane said: "After Paris, I definitely felt like I had a target on my back, but I've learned to embrace that and deal with it better."
"After Paris, everything was a huge learning curve for me emotionally. That week was really tough, and what I came away with was hard to process. But going into these Games I've learned to handle pressure better and regulate my emotions more."
Finucane plans to take a holiday with her sister before shifting focus to the Track World Championships in Shanghai in October, having settled for two silvers at last year's event in Santiago.
"I'll take a bit of time to reset, then focus on the World Championships," she confirmed. "I'll soak everything in first, because I don't think it is going to fully sink in for a while."
