London 2012 Olympics: Clancy snatches bronze in omnium as Kenny and Pendleton advance

Published on 06/08/2012 03:47

ED CLANCY claimed bronze in the men’s omnium as Great Britain missed out on Olympic gold for just a second time at the London 2012 velodrome, with Denmark’s Lasse Hansen taking the title.

As Jason Kenny and Victoria Pendleton made serene progress in the men’s and women’s sprints, Olympic team pursuit champion Clancy settled for third, but hailed the crowd after rising from fifth place with one discipline to go in the six-
discipline event.

Clancy, the 2010 world omnium champion, won two of the events and finished second in a third, but ultimately fell short of the title due to two disappointing displays in the bunch races.

Hansen of Denmark triumphed with 27 points, Bryan Coquard of France 
was second on 29 and Clancy finished with 30. Britain had won four of the five events in the previous three days of competition - missing out only in the women’s team sprint - and were well placed in yesterday’s only medal event, with Kenny untroubled in advancing to the last four of the men’s sprint, which takes place today.

Clancy’s competition was varied – he won the flying lap on day one, finished 11th in the points race and fifth in the elimination race to sit fourth at the midway point overnight.

The 27-year-old Yorkshireman moved up to second with second place in the four-kilometre individual pursuit, but fell four points off the pace with a 10th-place finish in the penultimate event, the 15km (60 lap) scratch race. Clancy clocked one minute 00.981 seconds to win the final discipline, the one-kilometre time-trial. It was a sensational time in the event which was removed as a stand-alone event from the programme after Sir Chris Hoy won in Athens in 2004 in 1min 00.711secs.

Defending champion and six-time world sprint champion Pendleton made straightforward progress in the corresponding women’s event, advancing untroubled to today’s best-of-three quarter-finals, with tomorrow’s semi-finals and final in her sights.

Pendleton, who was poised to meet Olga Panarina of Belarus in the last eight, was seeking a third Olympic gold to become Britain’s most successful female Olympian. Friday’s victory in the keirin saw Pendleton move level with athlete Kelly Holmes, swimmer Rebecca Adlington and sailors Shirley Robertson, Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb on two Olympic gold medals.