Sir Chris Hoy won a fifth Olympic gold after Great Britain’s men’s team sprint squad triumphed on a night of high drama at the London Velodrome on this day in 2012.
After Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish were relegated from the team sprint for a takeover infringement and Britain’s men’s team pursuit quartet set a world record, Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny progressed to the final of the three-man, three-lap team sprint in a world record of 42.747 seconds.
The British trio clocked another world record in a stunning finale, finishing in 42.600secs.
In a repeat of the final four years previously in Beijing, France’s Gregory Bauge, Michael D’Almeida and Kevin Sireau had to settle for silver, finishing in 43.013.
Hoy, 36, told BBC One: “It is quite overwhelming. We knew it was possible, this hasn’t come out of the blue. We knew that if we put together our best possible race on the day that it was possible but it’s easier said than done.
“We had the full support of the team behind us and we nailed it.
“That last ride I dug deeper than I have ever dug before. I didn’t want to let the boys down, they have been riding so well today.
“You can’t overstate what it means to us in front of our home crowd.”
Hindes said: “It’s unbelievable, I still can’t believe I am an Olympic champion, it’s a dream come true.”
Kenny added: “I can’t believe how quick we went today.
“Phil went off so quick, we were just swinging over the back of him, trying to keep up.”
Five days later Hoy won gold in the Keirin to overtake Sir Steve Redgrave and become the most successful British Olympian.
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