Olympics: Lavreysen beats Hoogland in all-Dutch men's Sprint final

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Harrie Lavreysen beat his fellow Dutchman Jeffrey Hoogland to win gold in the men’s sprint at the Tokyo Olympics. Hoogland claimed the first race in the final before Lavreysen pipped him to the line after a gripping joust in the second.

The third and decisive race proved just as tense but Lavreysen’s power proved decisive in the final lap and he claimed his second gold medal of the Games after he and Hoogland had formed part of the Netherlands’ winning effort in the team sprint.

Lavreysen and Hoogland clocked the same time in qualifying and there was little to separate them as they made their way through the rounds. There was little to separate them either in their track record, though Lavreysen was perhaps the most marginal of favourites for gold given that he led his teammate 6-5 in their previous head-to-head match-ups.

However, Lavreysen found himself on the back foot after the opening sprint, where Hoogland hit the front early and held off his fast-closing compatriot to take the decision.

Hoogland looked on the brink of gold in their second sprint and he led off the final bend, but Lavreysen managed to squeeze his way past at the death to set up the third and decisive sprint.

After a cagy opening couple of laps, Lavreyesen hit the front with purpose on the last lap. He led into the final bend and he claimed a convincing victory to take gold ahead of Hoogland.

In the race for bronze, Jack Carlin (Great Britain) showcased his talent by defeating Denis Dmitriev (Russian Olympic Committee) 2-0. The Briton was a confident winner of the opening sprint, though the contest was rather tighter the second time around. Dmitriev tried valiantly to overhaul Carlin off the final bend but he couldn’t quite make it around his opponent.

Dutch dominance

It would be an all-Dutch contest for the gold medal in the men's Sprint at the Tokyo Olympic Games, with the top qualifiers Harry Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland both needing only the first two heats of their semi-finals to secure their place in the competition for the top two medals. 

In the first Sprint semi-finals heat of the night both the Dutch riders came out on top with Hoogland overcoming his opponent, Denis Dmitriev (Russian Olympic Committee) while Lavyreysen narrowly beat Jack Carlin (Great Britain). Then when it came to the second semi-final in the best of three and it was an extremely tight fish with the Dmitriev trying to come from behind in the final lap, but Hoogland held him off and secured his place in the gold medal final with his second run.

The pressure was on when Carlin lined up, with the rider from Great Britain holding the hopes of a nation that had won the event at the last three Olympics. Carlin looked like he was in with a chance but then Lavyreysen made the move from behind in the final lap to make it an all Dutch final for the men’s sprint. Neither of the Dutch riders, who both already have a gold medal from the Team Sprint, needed the last heat to get through.

The gold and bronze medal deciding finals are later on Friday.

End of Kenny's reign

Jason Kenny’s reign as Olympic sprint champion came to an end after the Briton was eliminated in the quarter finals by Lavreysen. The Dutchman was joined in Friday’s semi-finals by his fellow countryman Hoogland, Carlin and Dmitriev (Russian Olympic Committee).

Lavreysen defeated Kenny 2-0 in their quarter-final match-up, consigning the Briton to the four-up sprint for the minor placings. Hoogland continued the Netherlands’ fine track session by defeating Sebastien Vigier (France).

Carlin produced a fine brace of sprints to beat Max Levy (Germany) in his quarter-final to ensure Great Britain remain in the hunt for medals on Friday, while the closest match-up of the round was between Dmitriev and Nicholas Paul (Trinidad and Tobago), with the Russian edging the contest in the third and final sprint.

The session concluded with the one-off, four-man sprint for fifth place. Kenny decided to take up his effort from distance, perhaps reckoning that he lacked the turn of pace to outmatch Levy et al, but he had to settle for 8th place and Levy took out the sprint ahead of Paul and Vigier.

“I am disappointed, but I’ve not got some kind of mad ego that can’t accept I’m not going to be the best in the world every day of the week,” Kenny said afterwards. “It’s just one of those things. I’m not where I want to be, I’m not as competitive as I want to be. I just have to accept, it. I’ve just been scrapping, trying to get as far as I can in the race in the hope of getting some silverware at the end of it, but it wasn’t to be today.”

The Briton will return to the track on Saturday for the Keirin, where he is also the defending Olympic champion.

Qualifying

After winning gold in the men’s Team Sprint and dominating the qualifying time trial round of the men’s Sprint, Dutch duo Jeffrey Hoogland and Harrie Lavreysen used their speed to progress through the 1/32 and 1/16 rounds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and into Thursday’s ⅛ finals. 

The 1/32 finals followed the speed hierarchy of the qualifying round but produced some thrilling sprint battles as Great Britain’s Jason Kenny clashed with Malaysia’s Mohd Azizulhasni Awang. 

Kenny won but Awang made it back through via the repechages and in the 1/16 round, beating Canada’s Nick Wammes. A second battle means he will face Hoogland on Thursday. Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sharom also fought back via the repechages, giving Malaysia two riders in the ⅛ finals. 

Great Britain’s Jack Carlin beat Sharom in the 1/16 as he progressed with confidence. Carlin led from a long way out to defeat Australia’s Nathan Hart in the 1/32 race and produced an audacious move to beat Sharom in the 1/16 round.

“I’m feeling good,” said Carlin. “It’s been a while since we’ve been in high, top-level competition and that blew the cobwebs away.”

Paul Nicholas of Trinidad and Tobago beat Awang in his 1/16 race, while New Zealand’s Sam Webster beat Sebastien Vigier of France. Both fought back via the repechages, while Sharom needed a second ride-off after crashing with Patryk Rajkowski of Poland. Yuta Wakimoto kept Japanese hopes alive by also coming back via the repechages.

The men’s Sprint ⅛ finals and quarterfinals will be held on Thursday, with the semi-finals and final on Friday.

Dutch double up with fastest qualifiers in men's Sprint

Dutch riders Jeffrey Hoogland and teammate Harrie Lavyreysen were the fastest qualifiers in the men’s Sprint at the Tokyo Olympic Games, with both setting a time of exactly 9.215 for the 200-metre flying start and setting a new Olympic Record in the process. 

Great Britain’s Jack Carlin set the third fastest time of 9.306. Having raced before the Dutch duo, he was the first to break the Olympic Record set by Jason Kenny in Rio in 2016. World Record holder Nicholas Paul (Trinidad and Tobago) was fourth with a time of 9.316, fading slightly after a fast start.

The former Olympic Record holder and 2016 and 2012 gold medallist, Kenny, was the last rider on the track but didn’t challenge for the top spots, finishing eighth with a time of 9.510.

Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer, who was fourth in Rio, had to pull out before the event got underway, as he was unwell. He was replaced by Matt Richardson, who qualified in 21st position. 

In the qualifying round riders complete a flying 200 metre time-trial, times taken after two-and-a-half build up laps, with the fastest 24 of the 30 riders qualifying. It also determines the seeding order for the more tactical sprints ahead, starting with the 1/32 finals. The main rounds, excluding the repechages are a 1/16 finals round, 1/8 finals, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. They will be contested later on Wednesday and on Thursday. 

Great Britain has dominated the men’s sprint in recent Olympics, with Kenny winning the last two Olympic gold medals in the event while Chris Hoy won in Beijing in 2008 as Kenny came second.