After all the hullabaloo of the past five days, when fiance Laura Trott also became the first British woman to win four Olympic golds by claiming the team pursuit and omnium, he was asked if he would finally get time to enjoy Rio’s attractions.
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The 28-year-old from Bolton emulated Sir Chris Hoy’s 2008 achievement of winning three titles at one Olympics to move level with the Scot as the Briton with the most Games golds.
“I think British Cycling has always been an Olympic-based programme, so we’ve always focused on the Olympics”, said the 24-year-old, already Britain’s most decorated female Olympian with four golds.
Jason Kenny won the Men’s Keiren event after two false starts to win his sixth Olympic gold medal.
When Hoy became the first Briton in 100 years – since swimmer Henry Taylor in 1908 – to win three gold medals in one Olympics, he was inundated with offers ahead of the London 2012 Games.
And it brought with it gushing praise from the man he may yet surpass four years from now in Tokyo.
The couple got engaged on Christmas Day in 2014. “I am so proud at what I achieved”, Trott told reporters after holding up a British flag with “Go Trotty Go” emblazoned across it.
Usually the riders responsible are disqualified, but on Tuesday, after minutes of tense deliberation, the race was restarted with all six cyclists.
“It’s not the week we’d been aiming for, that’s for sure”, cycling team leader Kevin Tabotta said of the Australian track results. “Then we could make a clock”.
Sorry Blake and Ryan, Channing and Jenna, David and Victoria – you have competition, and unfortunately for you, these two are really good at winning competitions. I’m not in their camp, in their country, I don’t know how it works, I don’t know what goes on. “I was there in Bejing and knew it was special and as the years have gone by I appreciated how wonderful he was then and to do same it is incredible”.
Luckily for Emma, one of her clients was “understanding” enough to let her watch Laura, even while she was on shift. It used to frustrate me a little bit with the guys around me getting cars and bits and pieces like that, but I like to flounder around doing what I like.
Kenny admitted he and Callum Skinner, his team-mate and room-mate who he beat to sprint gold on Sunday, had chicken nuggets – Usain Bolt’s protein of choice – the night before their final.
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Kristina Vogel of Germany at least slowed Britain’s snowball Tuesday, beating Katy Marchant in the individual sprint semifinals and topping Becky James in the finals.
