Jason Kenny wins seventh Olympic gold as he steals away to take Keirin title in Tokyo
The Brit put in an audacious attack, sprinting clear with three laps to go
Jason Kenny has won his seventh Olympic gold medal in the Keirin at the Tokyo Olympics, making him the most successful Briton in Games history.
The 33-year-old won with an audacious attack, sprinting clear of his rivals as the derny pulled off with three laps to go.
The other riders hesitated, Matthew Glaetzer looking around to see if anyone else was going to chase, as Kenny put his foot down. With two laps to go, he was barely more than a quarter of a lap ahead, but he held this advantage and rounded the final turn with daylight between him and the other finalists, crossing the line 0.763 seconds ahead.
Malaysia's Awang took the silver medal, outsprinting the Netherlands' Harrie Lavreysen, the Dutchman having already picked up two golds this Games in the sprint and team sprint.
"Well I hope you all stayed up to watch that!!" said Chris Hoy, as Kenny eclipsed his Olympic gold medal record. "The most incredible Keirin I’ve ever seen, won by Britain’s most successful Olympian ever - Jason Kenny! Proud of you mate."
Kenny had looked questionable to retain his Olympic Keirin title after needing to qualify for the quarter-finals through repechages following his first-round defeat.
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He then finished second in his quarter-final heat behind Colombia's Quintero, before just edging out Australia's Glaetzer to win his semi-final.
Jack Carlin was in the same semi-final as his compatriot Kenny, yet just missed out on the final by one spot, finishing fourth behind Suriname's Jair Tjon En Fa to bring his debut Games to a close, having won silver in the team sprint and bronze in the sprint.
Kenny was also a part of the team sprint squad, and adds this gold to that silver, having now won a total of nine - seven gold, two silver - medals during his Olympic career.
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Hi. I'm Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor. I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.
Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).
I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.
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