Rio 2016: Day six wrap-up as Britain's cyclists deliver gold while Grainger and Thornley grab silver

A comprehensive look back on another day of success for Team GB

(AFP)

Great Britain’s track cyclists delivered in style to deliver a huge and unexpected boost to the medals tally as the sixth day of competition drew towards a close, setting an Olympic record to win a third straight men's team sprint gold.

Britain have dominated track cycling at the past two Olympics, winning eight out of the 10 gold medals at London 2012 and claiming seven in Beijing four years earlier. Britain were not considered one of the favourites for gold having failed to earn a podium place at any of the World Championships since 2012.

But that was what the so-called experts said. The cyclists confounded all expectations with a stunning victory over world champions New Zealand.

Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny – for whom this is a fourth Olympic gold - and Callum Skinner won in 42.440 seconds, to clinch Britain's fourth gold at Rio 2016 and taking their overall tally to 15.

It crowned a fine start on the track, with Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell Shand, Elinor Barker and Katie Archibald earlier set a new world record in the women's team pursuit.

It might have been three golds for Britain by early evening in Brazil. Though the rugby sevens team were pummelled by the mighty Fijians after making the final, Team GB also claimed two silvers that, with a fairer wind or an ounce less grunt from the opposition, could have been the more precious metal.

Rower Kath Grainger was the headline act for GB, winning her silver with Victoria Thornley in the double sculls, to become the most decorated British female in Olympic history.

The canoe slalom duo of David Florence and Richard Hounslow followed suit shortly after in the C2 event at the Whitewater Stadium in Deodoro. But both had looked set for medals of a different hue.

Grainger’s silver was her fifth medal – it will hang nicely alongside her gold and three other silvers – and put daylight between her and swimmer Rebecca Adlington, making her Britain’s most decorated woman Olympian in the modern era.

But it was so nearly a golden gong for Grainger as she and Thornley led for the majority of their race before the Polish pair of Magdalene Fularczyk-Zozlowska and Natalia Madaj pipped them at the last, by just 0.95 seconds.

Grainger won gold with Anna Watkins in this event at London 2012 and this new pairing have taken time to gel but out on Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas they took the lead early and by 1500m had a 1.25sec advantage over the Poles. But their opponents hit back at the last.

“I’ve never been called [greatest Woman Olympian] before,” the 40-year-old said. “It’s unreal. It’s not something you set off to do.” Grainger declared she will now bring the curtain down on an Olympic career which began at the Sydney Olympics, 16 years ago. But then she retired after London 2012 too…

The margin of defeat was even narrower for Hounslow and Florence who were pipped to gold by the Slovakian cousins Peter and Ladislav Skantar by 0.43 seconds. The British duo, like Grainger and Thornley, were ahead of the time set by the eventual winners at the first checkpoint and the second but a u-turn into the current to navigate through a late gate cost them time and gold.

The duo, going out eighth out of 10 pairs, were 1.5 seconds ahead of the Slovakian pacesetters at the first time split and 1.45sec up at the next - but lost ground over the closing stages to miss out on gold by the narrowest of margins.

The pair refused to be downbeat. “We were so close to gold,” said Hounslow, “but it was also so close to it not being a medal. It’s fantastic, I’m delighted.”

In the tennis Andy Murray won in three sets against Italy’s Fabio Fognini but the Scot had looked to be heading home when he lost eight games on the bounce. That saw the second set go down the swanny and he was 3-0 down in the decider when he woke up and won six on the bounce himself to go through to the quarters 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.