Track Worlds: Sir Chris Hoy wins Men's Keirin

Sir Chris Hoy ensured that he walked away from the 2012 Track World Championships with his reputation intact after putting a disappointing few days behind him by winning the final of the men's keirin on the final day in Melbourne.

He produced a last-gasp move of astonishing audacity to sweep from fourth to first between the final bend and the finish line, getting up in the last five metres to pip Germany's Maximillian Levy, who looked sure to win as the final lap progressed. New Zealand's Simon Van Velthooven finished third but was subsequently disqualified for a rule infraction, meaning Great Britain's Jason Kenny was promoted to third place.

Hoy was part of the Great Britain team which were disqualified from the bronze medal race of the men's team sprint on Wednesday, and on Saturday he was defeated by his teammate Kenny in the semi-final of the individual sprint. Despite gaining compensation by winning the bronze medal race, his defeat in that race represented a dent to his reputation and a probable end to his hopes of gaining the sole Team GB slot in that event at the London 2012 Olympics, where he would be the defending champion.

Yet the veteran Hoy rolled back the years today to produce a final burst that will live long in the memory of anyone who witnessed it and give him a boost as he faces a challenging few weeks ahead of the Olympic Games. The gold here was the 25th medal won by Hoy in the Track World Championships.

"I'd given up - not physically, but I thought the chance of winning had gone by the time I hit the back straight with half a lap to go," Hoy told BBC Sport.

"Normally I'd go around the outside and put my foot down but I'd lost momentum. It was one last chance - I've never gone up the inside before in my life, it's a real last-chance saloon - I couldn't believe the door opened and I managed to get through. In some ways I'm very lucky, but very grateful to have won.

"World titles are all special, every single one you remember, but this is particularly special because it's the last meaningful race I'll have before the Olympic Games. It's a great confidence boost and hopefully I'm showing my rivals I can win from any position."

Results

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Men's Keirin Final
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Chris Hoy (Great Britain)
2Maximilian Levy (Germany)
3Jason Kenny (Great Britain)
4Mickael Bourgain (France)
5Kazunari Watanabe (Japan)
6Simon Van Velthooven (New Zealand)
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Men's Keirin 7-12 Race
#Rider Name (Country) Team
7Scott Sunderland (Australia)
8Hersony Canelon (Venezuela)
9Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia)
10Matthew Crampton (Great Britain)
11Hodei Mazquiaran Uria (Spain)
12Yudai Nitta (Japan)
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Heat 1
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Maximilian Levy (Germany)
2Kazunari Watanabe (Japan)
3Simon Van Velthooven (New Zealand)
4Yudai Nitta (Japan)
5Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia)
6Hersony Canelon (Venezuela)
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Heat 2
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Chris Hoy (Great Britain)
2Mickael Bourgain (France)
3Jason Kenny (Great Britain)
4Scott Sunderland (Australia)
5Matthew Crampton (Great Britain)
6Hodei Mazquiaran Uria (Spain)
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Heat 1
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Mickael Bourgain (France)
2Puerta Zapata Fabian Hernando (Colombia)
3Josiah Ng Onn Lam (Malaysia)
4Matthew Archibald (New Zealand)
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Heat 2
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Hersony Canelon (Venezuela)
2Christos Volikakis (Greece)
3Denis Spicka (Czech Republic)
4Juan Peralta Gascon (Spain)
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Heat 3
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Simon Van Velthooven (New Zealand)
2Jonathan Marin Cermeno (Colombia)
3Kamil Kuczynski (Poland)
4Alexander Quincy (Trinidad and Tobago)
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Heat 4
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Matthew Crampton (Great Britain)
2Francesco Ceci (Italy)
3Teun Mulder (Netherlands)
4Andrii Vynokurov (Ukraine)
5Sergey Borisov (Russian Federation)
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Heat 5
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Jason Kenny (Great Britain)
2Matthew Glaetzer (Australia)
3Shane Perkins (Australia)
4Joachim Eilers (Germany)
5Muhammad Edrus Md Yunos (Malaysia)
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Heat 6
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Maximilian Levy (Germany)
2Edward Dawkins (New Zealand)
3Francois Pervis (France)
4Miao Zhang (People's Republic of China)
5Hugo Haak (Netherlands)
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Heat 1
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Yudai Nitta (Japan)
2Josiah Ng Onn Lam (Malaysia)
3Miao Zhang (People's Republic of China)
4Shane Perkins (Australia)
5Sergey Borisov (Russian Federation)
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Heat 2
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Chris Hoy (Great Britain)
2Hersony Canelon (Venezuela)
3Joachim Eilers (Germany)
4Francesco Ceci (Italy)
5Kamil Kuczynski (Poland)
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Heat 3
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Hodei Mazquiaran Uria (Spain)
2Simon Van Velthooven (New Zealand)
3Teun Mulder (Netherlands)
4Maximilian Levy (Germany)
5Denis Spicka (Czech Republic)
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Heat 4
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia)
2Matthew Crampton (Great Britain)
3Alexander Quincy (Trinidad and Tobago)
4Juan Peralta Gascon (Spain)
5Puerta Zapata Fabian Hernando (Colombia)
6Matthew Glaetzer (Australia)
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Heat 5
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Kazunari Watanabe (Japan)
2Jason Kenny (Great Britain)
3Christos Volikakis (Greece)
4Mickael Bourgain (France)
5Edward Dawkins (New Zealand)
6Andrii Vynokurov (Ukraine)
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Heat 6
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Scott Sunderland (Australia)
2Francois Pervis (France)
3Matthew Archibald (New Zealand)
4Jonathan Marin Cermeno (Colombia)
5Muhammad Edrus Md Yunos (Malaysia)
6Hugo Haak (Netherlands)

 

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