By Elizabeth Hudson, BBC Sport reporter
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when track cycling was not one of Britain’s most successful Paralympic sports.
Going into the 2004 Athens Paralympics, GB had never won a gold medal in the sport. Sarah Bailey (as she was then) and Jody Cundy were still swimmers and Kadeena Cox was a sport-loving 13-year-old dreaming of the Olympics.
But in the Greek capital, it was tandem pair Aileen McGlynn and Ellen Hunter as well as Darren Kenny who helped kick-start the revolution.
After the success of the Sydney Paralympics, the Athens Games were a disappointment.
Ticket sales were poor, venues were already showing signs of wear and tear and media coverage was limited.
On the opening day of competition, I headed to the Olympic velodrome for my first experience of Paralympic Games competition. There was no point in following the crowds – there were none – and I entered a venue that was easily less than a quarter full.
In the middle, the riders were busily doing their warm-ups – among them McGlynn and her sighted pilot Hunter before their 1km time trial event.
Just a few weeks earlier, McGlynn, a 31-year-old visually impaired trainee actuary who started cycling aged eight, had proudly watched on TV as her fellow Scot Chris Hoy won his first Olympic gold in the kilo at the same venue, cheered on by thousands.
Now, there were large swathes of empty seats around the track with a small but vociferous group of GB supporters, mainly friends and family, trying to make their presence felt.
Even getting to the Games had been an achievement for the pair. Hunter broke her back in a cycling accident the year before and was told she would never ride again. Athens was the first time they had raced internationally.
Wearing the same silver helmets worn by the likes of Hoy, the British pair clocked one minute 11.160 seconds, smashing the old world record and setting a tough benchmark.
They sat with male tandem pair Ian Sharpe and Paul Hunter (Ellen’s husband) in the middle of the velodrome, watching their rivals, a medal getting ever closer.
With at least bronze secured, it was the turn of the leading two pairs. First the Australians tried and failed and then the Americans took to the track and fell short by 0.061secs.
