Olympics-Cycling-Seventh heaven for keirin king Kenny
Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Cycling - Track - Men's Keirin - Gold Final - Izu Velodrome, Shizuoka, Japan - August 8, 2021. Jason Kenny of Britain celebrates with a British flag after taking gold in the race. REUTERS/Matthew Childs
IZU, Japan : Jason Kenny became Britain's greatest-ever Olympian as he powered to victory in the men's keirin on Sunday to claim the seventh gold medal of his incredible career.
The 33-year-old arrived in Tokyo tied on six golds with former track cycling team mate Chris Hoy.
He failed to add to his gold haul in the team sprint and individual sprint, looking a little off his best form.
But he saved the best to last with a virtuoso performance to win the keirin by a country mile, retaining the title he won in Rio in 2016.
After the electric pace bike pulled off the track with three of the six laps remaining, Kenny put the hammer down and surprised his rivals with an audacious attack.
The plan worked a treat, building a huge lead that none of his rivals could reel in.
Malaysia's Azizulhasni Awang finished a distant second, while Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands took the bronze to add to his golds in the team and individual sprint in the Izu Velodrome this week.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
