Thursday, October 7, 2010

Australia take more cycling golds

Cameron Meyer
Gold number three for Australian Cameron Meyer

Australia kept up its dominance in the velodrome with golds in the men's team sprint and men's scratch.

The team sprint win came despite the withdrawal of star rider Shane Perkins who pulled out in a show of remorse for making a rude gesture at an official.

Cameron Meyer added a third gold medal to his collection, winning the men's scratch ahead of compatriot Michael Freiberg.

The Australian team have now won a total of 12 cycling golds.

Daniel Ellis, Jason Niblett and Scott Sunderland's win in the men's team sprint came two days after lead sprinter Daniel Ellis was confined to his bed with a stomach virus.

"Dan went off perfectly for us, starting as quickly as he was running to the toilet the other day," team-mate Jason Niblett joked.

"The gold medal is the icing on the cake. The morale here is insane. Everyone seems to be getting a PB (personal best) or a gold," he added.

Niblett himself was only on the team after replacing Perkins whose self-imposed withdrawal came after aiming a rude gesture at an official who disqualified him from the keirin final on Wednesday.

"I am pulling out of the team sprint because it's respectful for my team. I want to set an example for other people in the team," he stated before the team sprint.

Australia's 12th cycling gold came when Meyer overtook Freiberg on the final lap. Canada's Zach Bell won bronze.

Meyer, who had already won gold medals in the points race and team pursuit, admitted the Games were missing some of cycling's biggest stars.

"The field here in Delhi is a little bit less than world championship level but if you look at the times and quality of rides over the last few days we have been sending a message out there for the future," he said.

India's dominance at the shooting range continued as Gagan Narang and Imran Hasan Khan won gold in the men's 50m rifle three position pairs. India's Vijay Kumar also triumphed in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol.

Potenshöjande medel -

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