Sprint, Women

The sprint was thought to be an intriguing clash of generations. The established names in the event like Kristina Vogel, Anna Meares and Simona Krupeckaitė were being challenged by newly crowned world champion Zhong Tianshi, as well as Elis Ligtlee and Anastasiya Voynova who were all in their early twenties.

The qualifying round would have been considered a huge shock had it not been for the form shown by the rest of the British team at Rio, with the time sheets being topped by Becky James, returning after missing most of three years with a variety of illnesses and injuries, and the hugely inexperienced convert from athletics, Katy Marchant.The first three rounds passed uneventfully barring for Vogel’s ousting of Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong who had qualified with a faster time trial than the German.

The first semi-final between James and Ligtlee went the Briton’s way but the chances of the women’s final mirroring the men’s event with an all British final ended when the greater tactical experience of Vogel proved too much for Marchant. Vogel outraced James in two-straight sprints to grab the gold medal despite suffering the ignominy of having her saddle collapse to the side of the track just before the finish line in the second heat of the final. This was the only German cycling gold of the Games. Marchant had only taken up the sport in 2013 after having previously been part of Jessica Ennis-Hill’s heptathlon training group.