Olympia / track news: Kristina Vogel finally won the long-awaited gold medal for the BDR on the last day of the track competitions in Rio. With a really strong performance, the 25-year-old defeated her British competitor Rebecca James in a spectacular and close final. Joachim Eilers also showed a convincing performance in the men's keirin, but had to be satisfied with fourth place due to the strong competition.
Women's sprint: Kristina Vogel loses the saddle, but keeps her nerves - gold!
What a thrilling finale in the women's sprint at the Olympic Velodrome. At the start were Kristina Vogel and Rebecca James, the two dominating athletes from the previous rounds, who - apart from Vogel's poor qualification - had not shown any weaknesses. In the decisive run, however, things got extremely dramatic in the German-British duel. Vogel started from the front, but James caught up with every meter he got closer to the finish line. When Vogel then rode a small wave centimeters from the finish and lost her saddle (!), the victory seemed lost. “I just lost my saddle. I thought, ok, that's it." the 25-year-old later commented on the situation. But in the end it was enough – just four thousandths of a second! Olympic gold for Kristina Vogel - the first and only gold medal for the BDR in Rio. A big consolation after the extremely disappointing Olympic Games for the BDR.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX4ykaLjpiQ
Men's keirin: Joachim Eilers strong - but not enough for a medal
Joachim Eilers was also clearly on course for a medal late in the evening: in the second round of the Keirin, the Chemnitz native dominated his run and thus easily made it into the final. There were some big chunks to conquer with Jason Kenny, Matthijs Buchli and Azizulhasni Awang. Eilers drove well again, but had to admit defeat to the three aforementioned competitors and settle for the thankless fourth place. Jason Kenny was once again indomitable and at the age of 28 he won his sixth Olympic gold overall.
Omnium of women: Gold for Laura Trott
The British had a firm grip on the Olympic Velodrome this year. A total of six gold medals went to the athletes from the island - including in the women's omnium, where Laura Trott gave the competition no chance with a tremendous performance and 240 points. The American Sarah Hammer secured second place and thus silver, Jolien D'Hoore from Belgium got the bronze. The only German starter, Anna Knauer, was 13th.