Rio 2016: Britain's Kenny wins keirin gold to take haul to six
Reuters
August 16, 2016 07:19 MYT
August 16, 2016 07:19 MYT
Matthijs Buchli of the Netherlands won silver and Malaysia's Azizulhasni Awang took bronze in a final that had to be restarted twice after issues with the positioning of the riders and the electric bike that sets the pace in the early laps.
Britain's Jason Kenny won the men's track cycling keirin on Tuesday, taking his gold medal haul to six and equalling Chris Hoy's record for the country's most Olympic titles.
In a tense race around Rio's boards, Kenny had too much pace down the final stretch, recovering from a slow start to finish just clear. It was his third triumph in Rio, having won in the team sprint and the men's sprint before the keirin.
After taking gold, Kenny embraced his fiancee and fellow gold medal winner Laura Trott, who was in tears in the centre of the track. Chris Hoy, the sprint cyclist great whose record haul Kenny matched, cheered from the balcony.
"It just felt like a dream. I guess I'm tired. I was just floating through it," Kenny said. "It's mental to be level with Chris. I was in Beijing when he won his three so to come here and do the same is pretty amazing."
Matthijs Buchli of the Netherlands won silver and Malaysia's Azizulhasni Awang took bronze in a final that had to be restarted twice after issues with the positioning of the riders and the electric bike that sets the pace in the early laps.
By the time the race got underway for a third time, a tense silence hung over the Rio velodrome.
Kenny appeared to hang back as the electric bike slipped aside, perhaps wary of triggering another restart.
As the riders spun into the final lap Kenny was still not in the lead but the world's fastest sprinter found another level and burst clear of the rest of the pack just before the line.