Carlin determined to keep digging deep in bid to finally strike gold
JACK CARLIN insists he will not be motivated by ending his major championship gold medal drought when he sizes up for a sizzling Sunday showdown at the European Championships.
The Scottish star, 25, has racked up virtually every Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth silver and bronze going on the track but is still yet to clamber to the summit of the podium.
Carlin has enjoyed an impressive European campaign in Munich by bagging team sprint bronze alongside fellow Scot Alistair Fielding and Hamish Turnbull before turning his attention to the individual event on Saturday.
The Paisley peddler entered the event as one of the undisputed favourites and justified that label with a searing time of 9.064 seconds to top morning qualifying.
And knockout victories against Italian Matteo Bianchi and Hungarian star Sandor Szalontay then catapulted him into Sunday’s semi-final alongside teammate Turnbull, 23. Carlin claimed silver and bronze medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer and after his team sprint podium on Friday, is now a combined seven-time world and European medallist.
But none are the colour he desires the most after being pipped at the finish line on so many occasions.
Carlin says he’s keeping cool under pressure and hopes sticking to his tried and tested process can finally change his fortunes at Munich’s Messe velodrome.
He said: “I want to win every time I race, but I’m also well aware that if people are better than you on the day, they’re better than you.
“You just have to keep plugging away and hope the time will come. I still enjoy riding the bike, and that’s the reason I’m here. It’s not massive about walking to the top of that podium – I enjoy the atmosphere and what I do day in, day out.
“As long as you keep that focus and that mentality, then the result I want will come eventually. It’s nice to be back with the GB squad and two of the younger lads. We don’t really know what to expect but it feels good.
“I’m feeling quite comfortable in the individual events – and we’ll see if we can get a medal in the team stuff as well.”
Carlin, Fielding and Turnbull joined forces to power past Poland in Friday’s team bronze medal clash to grab one of two medals won by Britain on a fantastic Friday in Germany.
Britain’s men’s team pursuit stars also clambered onto the podium with bronze before the individual disciplines got under way this weekend. Carlin, who won team sprint silvers at the 2016 and 2019 European Championships, came flying out of the blocks in qualifying as teammate Turnbull finished 10th.
And he made light work of Bianchi and Szalontay in the knockout stages while Turnbull, one of the more inexperienced members of the British team, stunned home favourite Marc Jurczyk and Polish star Mateusz Rudyk to keep his hopes of a medal alive. Carlin and Turnbull will not face each other in the semi-finals – the Scot goes up against French star Rayan
Helal while Turnbull does battle with Sebastien Vigier – but could meet in the final for the guaranteed prospect of a British gold and silver.
And it’s safe to say Carlin is relishing the prospect, adding: “It’s looking really promising for Great Britain tomorrow.
“We’re both in the semis so we’re guaranteed at least one medal. Hopefully we do meet but it’s in the final – there’s still two really strong riders and who are wanting that final spot as well as us.”
Carlin admitted to “falling out of love” with cycling after last year’s Tokyo Olympics where he won silver in the
team sprint and bronze in the individual race. But racing in front of a home crowd at the Commonwealth Games “reignited” his desire to return to cycling’s top table as he clinched keirin silver and sprint bronze in Birmingham.
Carlin entered this multi-sports European Championships – cycling is one of nine sports featuring in Munich – with few expectations for the new-look British sprint team but has been hell-bent on a medal in the individual competition.
The track being used at Munich’s makeshift velodrome is just 200m and has minimal straights, making each contest a “drag race” and considerably more unpredictable.
Carlin admits it took some getting used to but is evidently now flourishing after three days of racing.
“With a 200m track, we didn’t actually know what to expect,” he added. “We were all over the place at the start technically – it’s basically a drag race now.” n The multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, featuring Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Rowing, Sport Climbing, takes place 11th-21st August on the 50th anniversary of the Olympics Games in the German city. Follow online at bbc.co.uk/sport