English hope knocked out in 45mph horror crash

ENGLAND cyclist Joe Truman was knocked unconscious following a horrific crash when riding at 45mph in the keirin, as his old housemate Jack Carlin went on to win a silver for Scotland.

Truman suffered a broken collarbone in the collision, with the 25-year-old sent flying on the final lap of the keirin semi-final after riding into Australian Matthew Glaetzer, who had already hit the deck after clipping Carlin’s wheel.

Olympic cycling hero Sir Chris Hoy described the impact of the fall as ‘about as big as you can get in cycling’.

Truman was motionless as he slid down the bank, with the crowd falling silent and medics rushing to his aid. After an agonising wait, Truman finally sat up, to a huge cheer inside the velodrome.

Truman was given an oxygen mask and pushed away in a wheelchair before being driven to hospital.

Carlin, meanwhile, had managed to stay on his bike to qualify for the final, where he finished behind Nicholas Paul, a shock winner from Trinidad and Tobago.

‘It’s not easy seeing your pal lying on the ground like that,’ said Carlin, who won world silver with Truman in the team sprint in 2018. ‘There’s nothing worse than watching your mate crash.

‘He’s a team-mate and I lived with him for a long time. Fortunately, he got up and is moving around, but he took a good hit to his head.’

Truman missed last year’s Olympics following a career-threatening back injury.

Carlin said: ‘Joe’s had many issues with injuries throughout his career, but he’s very strong-willed. I don’t know if I could have come back from the things that he’s come back from.

‘This is just another hiccup in the road for Joe, but the Olympics are still two years away and no doubt he will be back stronger than ever.’

Carlin could also not hide his own disappointment at missing out on winning his first major international title. The 25-year-old claimed a silver and bronze at last year’s Olympics, having also won a silver at the last Commonwealth Games.

‘I’m obviously disappointed,’ said Carlin. ‘It’s another silver and I came here for gold. As much as

medals are nice, there’s only one you really want. Time will tell if I can get a gold or not.’

Carlin’s silver followed a bronze for his Scottish team mate Neah Evans in the women’s individual pursuit. Welshwoman Emma Finucane beat England’s Sophie Capewell to bronze in the sprint.

After two days on the track, England are yet to win a gold medal, although Laura Kenny rides in the points race today and scratch race tomorrow.

However, when asked what her chances were of glory, the five-time Olympic champion said: ‘Slim to none. I’ll turn up and hope for the best.’

Meanwhile, an English paracyclist has been fined for her efforts to claim a medal.

Sophie Unwin has been fined £172 for her protest against the decision not to award her a bronze medal on Friday — despite organisers apologising for causing her ‘distress’.

The 28-year-old finished third in Friday’s tandem B sprint after beating Scotland’s Libby Clegg in what was called the bronze medal race.

Unwin was in tears when she was told later that she would not receive a gong because there were only four entries in her event and rules state only gold and silver will be issued in such cases.

During the medal ceremony, Unwin and her pilot Georgia Holt held up an England flag behind the podium before being asked to move by security.

They later climbed on the podium to pose for photographs wearing borrowed bronze medals.

Cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, stated the punishment was for ‘failure to respect the instructions of the organiser’.

Birmingham Games organisers said: ‘We apologise to the athletes involved for the inadvertent distress this has caused.’