HADLEIGH, England (AP) -- Sabine Spitz's longevity at the top of her sport was remarkable even before she won that silver medal in mountain bike in the bucolic English countryside.
The 40-year-old German rider failed to defend her mountain bike Olympic title Saturday, but her second-place finish was enough to make the veteran proud.
Spitz, who competed in her first world championships more than 15 years ago, won a third consecutive Olympic medal on the challenging Hadleigh Farm course, gaining praise from her younger rivals.
"Now I have my Olympic collection of three different medals, so it's perfect," said Spitz, a bronze medalist in Athens. "I always had a medal on my mind."
Spitz's aging legs did not betray her. But after a good start to the race, she crashed over a technical section of the course called "the rock garden," which also slowed up bronze medalist Georgia Gould of the United States and left eventual winner Julie Bresset of France alone at the front.
"In the fourth lap, when I went over the handlebar, I hurt my knee a bit," Spitz said. "That broke my rhythm for a short time. Thank God nothing was wrong with the bike, so I could keep on going. But Julie was too strong today."
Competing in her fourth Olympics, Spitz was the oldest competitor of the field.
"She was really amazing today," British rider Annie Last said after crossing the line nearly two minutes behind Spitz. Last, who ended eighth after being tipped a contender for a medal, was a 5-year-old girl when Spitz took part in her first world championships in 1995.
"She is very experienced and today she knew exactly what to do at the right time," she said.
Spitz, a versatile athlete who also holds a cyclo-cross world title, went all out in the final lap and crossed the line six seconds ahead of Gould.
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Veteran rider Spitz wins silver in mountain bike
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