Hoy inspired a boy of 12 to become his successor

By ON his 12th birthday, Callum Skinner watched Sir Chris Hoy winning gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and decided he wanted to be a cyclist.

Today, the 23-year-old will prove sport has the power to inspire as he takes over from his idol, who retired in 2013, in the men’s sprint team as they defend their gold medal from London 2012. It was in that race that Hoy won his fifth and penultimate gold medal, with Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes, in a thrilling final against France.

Since watching Hoy on television at his home in Glasgow as a boy, Skinner has measured his life against the achievements of his fellow Scot, now 40. Within four years he had broken Hoy’s 200-metre sprint record for his age category, for which he was presented with the inaugural Chris Hoy trophy by his hero. He is, however, keen to play down any suggestion that he could be “the new Hoy”.

“He is definitely an icon in the sport and I’m kind of targeting the same position he was, but I try not to pay too much attention to the comparisons,” Skinner said previously. He added: “If I can emulate his success even by a small percentage, I’d be amazed.”

Hoy recently said his replacement was “an amazing athlete”, adding “I think he’s got what it takes”. on athletes. However, Nathaniel Storey, a microbiologist at Reading University, said: “There are two main possibilities for the green colour of the Olympic diving pool – one is from algae, the other is due to copper in the water. Copper and metal contamination of the water in high enough levels may be enough to dye hair and nails green.”

Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the Games, said the pool colour was a fault in “chemical conditions” because it has been used over a longer period than in the pre-Olympics test. “Alkaline levels have improved and we expect the colours to be blue very soon,” he said.