Tired Kenny accepts fate after Olympic crown slips
Jason Kenny bid farewell to the Olympic men’s sprint title he has held since London 2012 as he was beaten in the quarter-finals by Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen at the Izu velodrome.
Kennyneededarepechage to get beyond the 1/8 finals after being beaten by Denis Dmitriev, but his win over Azizulhasni Awang and Yuto Wakimoto proved only a temporary reprieve.
Lavreysen, who qualified joint fastest with compatriot Jeffrey Hoogland in an Olympic record time of 9.215 seconds on Wednesday, comfortablydispatchedhiminthe best-of-three quarter-finals.
A day earlier Kenny, now Britain’s most decorated Olympian having added a second silver to his six golds, admitted he was struggling to recover from the exertions of the team sprint competition, instead calling Jack Carlin Britain’s best chance of a medal in this event.
The Scot duly advanced to today’s semi-finals, beating
Germany Maximilian Levy 2-0, but Kenny was left to the placement race and came in last to finish eighth.
“I was just taking it one ride at a time but once I (lost) against Dmitriev it was hard, the repechage was absolutely savage and then I was straight back up against the fastest guys in the field,” Kenny said.
“It was always going to be
tough from then on. It’s one of those things. It’s just where I am physically at the minute.
“I don’t expect to be the fastestintheworldeverytime. Itwasreallyhardfiveyearsand itwillbereallyhardtomorrow for whoever takes it.”
Carlinlookedinimpressive form, diving underneath Levy in their first race to power to victory.
“With Jan Van Eijden as my tactics coach… if you ever watch some of the races he used to do, he would say it was kamikaze-esque,”the24-yearoldsaid.“Hetellsmeifyouever seeanopportunity,takeit.You just have to go with your gut.”
Katy Marchant’s hopes in the women’s keirin were ended in cruel fashion as she was caught in a crash through no faultofherowninthequarterfinals. Marchant, who looked strong despite suffering one relegation,wastakenoutwhen Dutch rider Lauren Van Riessenappearedtoclipawheelin front and swung up the bank and into her side.
Marchant got back on her bike to finish but knew she could not advance, with only the top four going through.