Chiles grad, Team USA capture the bronze medal in the Women's Team Pursuit at Tokyo Olympics

Lily Williams is returning home with an Olympic medal.

Team USA defeated Canada to capture a bronze medal in the Women's Team Pursuit Tuesday morning in Tokyo. 

Williams – a 2012 graduate of Chiles High and a multiple state champion in track and field – was part of the four-person indoor cycling team in Monday's opening race.

Williams, however, did not race in Tuesday's qualifier against Great Britain and in the medal race against Canada. Team USA's roster was a five-person team. 

In Tuesday's opening race against Team Great Britain, neither team gained more than a 0.1 second advantage. However, Team GB held on and edged Team USA by 0.814 seconds to move to the gold medal race against Germany. 

Germany won the gold medal over Great Britain, while Team USA defeated Canada to win the bronze medal. 

The USA team of Megan Jastrab, Jennifer Valente, Chloe Dygert and Emma White recorded a time of 4:08.040 to finish 2.512 seconds ahead of Canada.

"She should be happy and proud. ... now she can take a deep breath and be sort of a normal person for awhile," Cris Williams, Lily's dad, said Tuesday morning. "We talked to her last night before the final race (Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of Eastern time.) She will step back and realize it's quite an accomplishment." 

The Olympic medal is Valente and Dygert’s second in the discipline, while White, Jastrab, and Williams are all first-time Olympians.

"It's a great experience for one of ours," said Scott Gowan, who coached Williams in cross country and track and field at Chiles. 

"To be an Olympian after a such a short time in the event says a lot about the type of athlete Lily is. I am extremely proud of one of my former athletes. A gold medalist in Berlin last year in the World Championships and a bronze medal today in Tokyo. What a year for the girl from Bradfordville." 

The team of Williams, Chloe Dygert, Jennifer Valente and Emma White opened the Women’s Team Pursuit Monday with a time of 4:10.118 to place behind Germany and Great Britain. 

Team USA's time set a new national record and also would have broken the world record set by Team GG in 2016, until Germany beat the time earlier in the day Monday.

The world record was set and broken more than five times during the competition. 

The German’s time of 4:04.242 in the gold-medal race Tuesday was almost two seconds quicker than the world record they set in the heats (4:06.166).

With U.S. Olympics fans and athletes, friends, and families unable to attend the games in Tokyo, Williams’ parents Cris and Sarah – a former 1980 Olympian in speed skating –  watched the races live at Universal Resorts in Orlando as part of the two-week long Olympic watch party.

Williams made her first forays into track cycling during the winter of 2018-2019. 

Williams and three teammates captured the World Championship in the Women's Team Pursuit at the Berlin Velodrome in March 2020.

"I’m not sure track cycling was even on her radar when she started road races as a pro, but I think she realized pretty quickly that her event in track cycling – the team pursuit – is similar in many ways to her high school and college running races – the 1600 and 1500 meters; all are about 4-minute efforts," Cris said prior to the start of the Olympics. 

Reach Jim Henry at jjhenry@tallahassee.com.