Haley Batten of Park City makes U.S. Olympic history

Haley Batten, a mountain biker from Park City, Utah, made U.S. Olympic history on Sunday by claiming the silver medal in the women’s mountain biking race.

Her second-place finish is the highest ever at the Olympics for a U.S. mountain biker.

Pauline Ferrand Prevot of France won gold, while Jenny Rissveds of Sweden got bronze.

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At the halfway point in the race, Batten was part of a chase group behind three leaders with a strong lead.

The group caught the racer in third and then benefitted from another leader having to trade out her back tire.

Batten and Rissveds spent the final quarter of the race battling for the silver medal, but Batten was able to pull ahead in the final minutes.

“I knew before Tokyo that this was the race I was focusing on,” Batten said, per a press releaser. “I’ve grown a lot since then. I’ve prepared much better. I’m one of the best athletes in the world, and I know I’m the best I’ve ever been. For me, the preparation has been in the details. Steady building every single year, just one step at a time. It takes time, you can’t rush it, but I really believed in myself today.”

Ahead of the Olympics, Batten told the Deseret News that winning a medal wouldn’t change her life, but that she couldn’t wait to compete.

“What I love about sport is, I love competing at the highest level, and I love competing at the pinnacle, where everybody’s ready, everybody’s at their best, and it’s really, really, really hard to win. So for me, no, it’s not going to change my life. It’s not everything in the world to me to win a medal, but I think what it is, is it’s what I love to do. I love seeking human potential. I love challenging my mind and body to be their best,” she said.