Team Ireland track cyclists Emily Kay and Shannon McCurley did not have the race they hoped for after they did not finish in the first-ever women’s Olympic madison on Friday morning.
Shannon McCurley’s early crash brought an end to any hopes that Team Ireland had for the 30-kilometre race held at the Izu Velodrome in Tokyo.
The crash, one of several in the race, involved the European Championships silver medalist and Italian Elisa Balsamo who collided with each other just minutes into the race.
Team Ireland lost two laps as a result with their cyclists focused on clawing back at the gap that had opened up.
However, it became too much for them to counteract and the team withdrew from the race without scoring any points in the sprints.
Team Ireland had to settle for a share of 13th place in the final standings as a result of this.
Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald took gold for Great Britain in the race after a dominant display in the sprints.
Kenny’s fifth Olympic gold in three Olympic games makes her the most successful female cyclist in Olympic history.
The track cyclist moves clear of Charlotte Dujardin as the British female with the most gold medals.
She joins Bradley Wiggins and rower Steve Redgrave in joint-second on the country’s all-time list, only one gold medal behind her husband Jason Kenny and Chris Hoy.
Kenny and Archibald won 10 of the 12 sprints to finish on 78 points with Denmark taking silver on 35 points and the Russian Olympic Committee in bronze on 26 points.
The British duo asserted their dominance on their competitors from the start with a run of three straight sprint wins to kick off proceedings.
The reigning world champions, the Netherlands, failed to mount a serious challenge against Team GB as the side ran away with the gold medal victory.
Next up on the track cycling schedule is the Men’s Madison at 8:55 am on Saturday, August 7th in which Team Ireland cyclists Mark Downey and Felix English will compete.
