'We will have a special bond forever' - Dunlevy and McCrystal end partnership on high

“My dad is crying his eyes out. It makes me very grateful to see my parents cry, I don't see them cry very often.” 

SISTERS: Katie George Dunlevy, left, and pilot Eve McCrystal of Ireland react after the women's B 3000m individual pursuit final at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

On their second lap of silver celebration, Eve McCrystal let back her hand. Reaching out to grab it was the West Sussex woman who has come to be her sister. The hands remain clasped for an entire lap. One last lap together.

It was November 2013 when Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal first mounted the same bike. Katie-George, a world champion rower for Great Britain in a different lifetime, had pedaled with four different pilots during her first three years wearing green lycra. But for whatever reason, none of those pairings stuck or sustained.