Jason Kenny seals cycling sprint qualification as he launches bid for ninth medal to become Great Britain's most successful Olympian and defend his title... but team-mate Jack Carlin breaks his Olympic record before finishing third fastest
- Jason Kenny qualified eighth fastest but broke his 9.551 record from Rio
- However, British team-mate Jack Carlin also broke his Rio time to go third fastest
- Dutch pair Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland set identical quickest time
- Kenny and Carlin will now feature in respective head-to-head heats this morning
- Find out the latest Tokyo Olympic news including schedule, medal table and results right here
Jason Kenny comfortably got the defence of his men's cycling sprint title off to a positive start by sealing qualification for the next round.
Kenny recorded the eighth best time at 9.510 seconds, narrowly beating the Olympic record of 9.551 he set in Rio five years ago where he took gold.
Jack Carlin also progressed through qualification for Team GB earlier in the event, having also broken Kenny's Rio time by producing an impressive 9.306 to go third quickest.
Jason Kenny comfortably secured qualification for the next round in the men's sprint
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Carlin's record lasted mere minutes as Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen went faster with a 9.215 before his compatriot Jeffrey Hoogland bizarrely recorded the exact same time.
Qualification for the sprint consists of two 100m laps around the Izu Velodrome with qualification for the next round seeing the best 24 riders from 30 progress.
Kenny and Carlin already have a silver medal at the Tokyo Games having secured a silver in the team sprint along with Ryan Owens.
As well as defending the sprint titles he won in London and Rio, Kenny is now looking to become Great Britain's most successful Olympian of all time with a ninth medal in Japan.
Jack Carlin broke Kenny's Olympic record that he set in Rio to also progress in the men's sprint
Carlin (left) and Kenny (centre) are looking to add to their silver medals they picked up along with Ryan Owens in the team sprint earlier in the Tokyo Games
Despite his low placing in qualification, the low risk element of being eliminated means here is likely plenty more to come from the 33-year-old and he remains among the favourites to take gold in Tokyo.
Along with the top three, among the challengers to Kenny is Paul Nicholas of Trinidad and Tobago.
Nicholas set a new world record of 9.100 two years ago and was fourth quickest at the velodrome.
Kenny will now take on Malaysian rider Mohd Azizulhasni in a head-to-head heat, with the winner advancing to the next stage while Carlin will face Nathan Hart of Australia later on Wednesday morning.
