BEIJING // Britain took gold in the men's and the women's sprints on the final day of track cycling yesterday. While Argentina won the madison, it was a third gold medal for the Scotsman Chris Hoy, who beat his compatriot Jason Kenny in the final of the men's sprint. Mickael Bourgain of France took the bronze. In the women's race, Victoria Pendleton easily defeated Anna Meares of Australia.
It was an expected success for Pendleton, but still a victory of sorts for Meares. The gold medallist in the now-defunct 500m time-trial in Athens, has made a remarkable comeback from an injury in January that left her in a wheelchair with a fractured neck vertebra and dislocated shoulder. * AP She missed the world championships and had an agonising wait to see if she would qualify for Beijing. Meares' was the only track medal for the once-dominant Australian squad.
Guo Shuang took the bronze medal, China's only cycling medal, defeating Willy Kanis of Holland. It was a tortuous route to the podium for Guo. In the deciding semi-final race with Meares she caught her pedal on the track and fell, causing the race to be restarted. She then won the race on a photo finish but had barely started celebrating when officials relegated her from the final for nudging Meares during the sprint. "I believe it was my fault. The referee was very fair," Guo said.
In the madison, the 2004 world championship-winning team of Juan Esteban Curuchet and Walter Fernando Perez of Argentina claimed gold. * AP