Laura Trott and Jason Kenny will be remembered as the ‘golden couple’ of the Rio Games.
The engaged British pair of track cyclists pushed their joint gold medal count in Rio de Janeiro to five on Tuesday when Trott fought her way through the omnium, and Kenny raced to victory in the keirin event.
Trott could barely watch as Kenny took the lead only very late in the keirin sprint finals and barely made it across the finish line first,
ahead of Dutch rider Matthijs Buchli and Malaysia’s Azizulhasni Awang.
The cycling couple hugged and kissed, and Trott shed a few tears after the race that had started badly for Kenny. “It’s nice to be able to share the special moment,” Kenny said. “We’re always there for each other,” said Trott.
He and Awang were at risk of being disqualified for an early start, but the race was started again, only to be called off a second time after a few rounds because of another premature sprint by other riders. Kenny prevailed the third time around.
Trott, a multiple world champion, managed to maintain her dominance through the final flying lap and points races of the omnium, to win with a total score of 230 points over the omnium’s six events.
US eight-time world champion Sarah Hammer won her second Rio silver medal with 206 points, followed by Belgian Jolien D’hoore’s 199 points for bronze.
Kenny now has six Olympic golds under his belt — one from Beijing, two from London, and three from Rio. This makes him Britain’s joint most successful Olympian overall in terms of golds, on a par with fellow cycling legend Chris Hoy.
Trott, with two London and two Rio golds, is now her country’s greatest female Olympian.
However, Trott doesn’t feel like a star athlete. “I still feel like that little girl riding her bike because she loves it,” she said.
Britain have won six out of the 10 track events in Rio de Janeiro. The British dominance has raised questions from other teams.
German cyclist Kristina Vogel has called Britain’s successes “very questionable”, in light of their solid but less sweeping performances over the previous few years.
“I was world champion six months ago, so we’ve not come from absolutely nowhere,” Kenny said.
The funding that his team receives from the National Lottery has been a major reason for the British performance, he argued.
“We spend it really well. It’s really bloody efficient,” he said.
Trott thinks the recent top results were due to a shift in the training. “Over the last 18 months we had a real change in our programme. We did a lot of work in the gym.”
In addition, the athletes spent many sessions on turbo trainers, equipment that allows cyclists to pedal indoors while standing in place.
Her team had also improved their track cycles, she said: “It’s just a step above everybody else’s.”
Although Vogel has been one of the most outspoken sceptics, she was vindicated on Tuesday when she won gold in the women’s sprint — without a saddle. “It was crazy,” she said. “I had a problem with the seat post, and the saddle fell off.”
After she had secured her gold medal ahead of British riders Becky James and Katy Marchant, she struck a more conciliatory tone.
“I am proud of them both. For Katy, her finish with bronze in her first Olympics is good,” she said, while also acknowledging James’
return from an injury. She added, however: “They have to keep their eyes open that there are other nations here.”