Rio 2016 wrap-up: Team GB's golden couple Laura Trott and Jason Kenny take their medal count to a perfect 10
Trott and Kenny won their fourth and sixth golds in the women's omnium and men's keirin respectively
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Your support makes all the difference.Great Britain’s golden couple Laura Trott and Jason Kenny achieved yet more glory on the final evening of action in a Union Jack-bedecked Velodrome on Tuesday as the medals rained down again for Team GB.
Trott won the multi-event omnium and now has four gold medals – two in London, two here – the most of any female British Olympian.
Her husband to be, Kenny, added another gold to his bursting collection when he won the keirin and now has six – he joins Sir Chris Hoy at the top of that particular GB tree. That's 10 between the couple. There’ll be more gold in their Manchester pad than in Goldie’s gob soon.
Trott, who also won the team pursuit last week, was a model of consistency in the omnium finishing first or second in the first five events.
She was leading by 12 points from Jolien D’Hoore going into the evening action and the Belgian became a speck in the rear view mirror when the great Briton bagged 40 points in the flying lap after recording the quickest time of 13.708sec.
Entering the final event, the points race battled out over 100 laps, she had a lead of 24: 196 to 172. She regularly picked up points in the intermittent sprints and always kept a comfortable gap at the top. D’Hoore was unable to put up much of a fight and America’s Sarah Hammer moved through to take silver.
Trott waved to crowd and punched the air after crossing the line before dismounting and running to her family in the stands and bursting into tears. Then that famous smile flashed on to her face.
Kenny, 28, had already won the individual sprint on Sunday and the team sprint last week and also won gold and silver in Beijing and two golds at London 2012.
But he was fortunate to be allowed to win at all. In the first run at the final he was dangerously close to being disqualified when he was millimetres away from being judged to have overtaken the derny – the pizza delivery bike they follow for the first five and half laps – before it left the track: a sackable offence.
The judges looked long and hard at the supposed indiscretion before allowing him to retain his place in the re-run final. A false start followed in the second effort – adding to the drama. It was third time lucky and Kenny kept calm tucked into third place. With a lap to go he burst past Germany’s Joachim Eilers and crossed the line first.
Trott on the touchline burst into tears all over again before planting a smacker on her lover.
It was not such a happy night for their team-mate Becky James who had to be content with silver in the women’s sprint.
Following hot on the wheels of Trott’s victory, the Welshwoman was beaten 2-0 by the former world champion Germany’s Kristina Vogel in the final. James, from Abergavenny, lost the first heat by 0.016 seconds, or half a wheel, and the second by another slim margin.
GB’s Katy Marchant was in the other semi-final and won the bronze medal race off.
Outside the velodrome, Great Britain's Giles Scott had his victory in sailing's Finn class confirmed on Tuesday when he took part in the race. His lead was such that merely rocking up was enough to secure the medal.
It had become clear the 29-year-old would win gold on Supersonic Sunday but the Brit, for so long in Ben Ainslie’s shadow, was able to celebrate properly at last.
Scott’s fellow GB sailors, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, also guaranteed gold in the 470 category on another beautiful day on the water for Britain.
Elsewhere, there was a surprise bronze for Britain’s Amy Tinkler in the floor final as the gymnastics teams continued to be the surprise packages in Rio. The 16-year-old, the youngest member of Team GB, was undaunted, turning in a performance of impeccable precision and style. Her double salto and double pike were amazing, securing her 14.933 points.
Simone Biles of America won yet another gold in the event. Meanwhile, Tinkler returns home to Durham to discover her GCSE results.
Should be straight As from where we’re sitting.
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