Britain’s Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald won the madison gold and sprint bronze in the velodrome on day one of the Tokyo Olympics.
The when will the olympics be is a question that many people ask. The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to begin on July 24th, 2020.
| Dates: July 23rd to August 8th, Tokyo time: BST +8 |
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Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald were named Madison champions in Tokyo, making them the first British women to win gold at three Olympic Games.
With her fifth gold and sixth Olympic medal, Kenny, 29, becomes the most successful female athlete in the United Kingdom.
Kenny, the most successful female Olympic cyclist, stated, “I’ve never wanted to win a medal so badly in my life.”
After that, Jack Carlin won bronze in the individual sprint, his second medal of the Games and Team GB’s sixth overall on the track.
He and Jason Kenny and Ryan Owens won team sprint silver earlier in the week, while Laura Kenny and Archibald earned team pursuit silver.
Following Matt Walls’ triumph in the men’s omnium the day before, they won Madison gold on Friday.
At Tokyo 2020, the women’s madison was added to the Olympic program for the first time.
“I texted [husband] Jason and told him I feel like my Olympics are over today,” Kenny said. “I like team pursuits, but I was glad when they were over since this was the one race I really wanted to win – I’m simply relieved.”
“I’ve been fantasizing about having this discussion – I’ve never wanted anything so much, I’ve never been so scared, but we’ve been so clinical in our approach,” Archibald said.
“Last year, we had a coach change for this tournament. We’re aiming for the gold and attempting to spread ourselves out between competitions, and it feels great to pull it off.”
Kenny and Archibald put on a show.
Archibald earned madison gold at the World Championships in 2018 before teaming up with Kenny for European silver the following year.
Their performance in Tokyo, though, was a masterpiece in madison racing, as they won the first three sprints of the 120-lap, 30-kilometer race.
They won ten of the twelve sprints and earned a lap in total, gaining 20 points, with Denmark and the Russian Olympic Committee, who took silver and bronze, respectively.
But Kenny and Archibald were so dominant that they ended with more than twice the points of the Danes, with Amalie Dideriksen and Julie Leth finishing with 35 points to the ROC’s 26.
After being involved in a collision, Dutch world champions Amy Pieters and Kirsten Wild were forced to settle for fourth place.
Coach Monica Greenwood, who took over as the endurance team’s coach in December, praised Kenny and Archibald for their victory, saying that they had been practicing against Great Britain’s men’s under-23 squad to polish their madison strategy.
Kenny’s first gold as a mother came after the birth of her son Albie in August 2017.
“Please don’t ask me about Albie – I’ve never missed him so much,” she told Sport last week.
“But I couldn’t have done it without these ladies; I feel like I’m racing with a sister with Katie, and I’m so thankful to have her here and her support; I couldn’t have done it without her.”
Later, she stated: “When I first became pregnant, I awoke two months into the pregnancy and told Jason, “I can’t do this, I’m not going to be able to continue [cycling], there’s simply no way.” And now we’ve arrived.”
Carlin wins bronze in the sprint.
Jason Kenny had predicted Carlin for a medal in the individual sprint earlier in the week, and his prediction came true in the bronze medal race.
The Scot had previously lost in two legs in the semi-finals against Dutch world champion and eventual gold medalist Harrie Lavreysen, meaning he would face Denis Dmitriev of the Russian Olympic Committee in the final.
Carlin easily defeated Rio 2016 bronze medalist Dmitriev in the first race, reaching the finish line almost half a second ahead of him.
The second race, on the other hand, was considerably tighter, with Carlin edging out his opponent by 0.015 seconds.
“It’s been a long day today,” he said. “I didn’t feel as strong as I did yesterday, but I gave it my best and managed to come away with something.”
Carlin began cycling after injuring both ankles while playing football and need a non-contact activity to help him heal, only to injure his wrist during his first track practice.
In the gold medal race, Lavreysen defeated compatriot Jeffrey Hoogland over three legs.
