LONDON – Chris Hoy set a British record with his sixth Olympic gold medal Tuesday, defending his keirin title to finish off a dominating track cycling program for the home nation. Britain won seven of the 10 gold medals awarded at the London Velodrome to match its haul from the Beijing Games. It also won a silver and a bronze to finish with nine medals overall. Hoy was briefly overtaken by Maximilian Levy on the final lap of the eight-lap keirin, but pulled even with his German rival on the final corner and out-sprinted him to the finish line. Levy settled for the silver medal, and Simon van Velthooven of New Zealand and Teun Mulder of the Netherlands were both awarded bronze when a photo finish could not decide third place. Hoy's six gold medals broke a tie with rower Steve Redgrave and made Hoy the first rider to defend a keirin Olympic title. The Flying Scotsman also matched fellow British cyclist and Olympic time trial champion Bradley Wiggins with seven overall medals, also a record for Britain. Hoy's gold medal was the second of the day for Britain after Laura Trott's victory in the multi-event women's omnium. It was also the third overall after Victoria Pendleton took silver behind her rival Anna Meares of Australia in the women's sprint. Trott overtook Sarah Hammer of the United States for the gold. Trott was trailing Hammer by two points heading into the last of six events, the 500-meter time trial, which meant she had to finish at least three spots better to win gold. Trott won the race in 35.110 seconds, while Hammer finished fourth in 35.900 seconds. Hammer added another silver medal to the one she picked up behind Britain in the team pursuit, and Annette Edmondson of Australia finished second in the time trial to clinch bronze. Lasse Norman Hansen of Denmark fought back after a crash in one of the six races of the men's omnium to win a gold medal. Hansen hit the wooden boards in a curve after connecting with the rear wheel of Briton Edward Clancy in the scratch race, but escaped uninjured and went back on the track. He managed to rejoin the peloton after regaining a lap and finished sixth at the line. Hansen then produced a full-on effort in the 1-kilometer time trial to win the inaugural Olympic title in the multidiscipline event with a total of 27 points. Bryan Coquard of France took the silver with 29 points and Clancy claimed bronze, with 30 points. Anna Meares of Australia spoiled the British party at the London Velodrome by claiming the gold medal in the women's sprint with a 2-0 win over bitter rival Victoria Pendleton. It was sweet revenge for Meares, who lost to the British rider in the final four years ago in Beijing. Meares denied Pendleton a third gold medal, which would have made her the most successful British female athlete at the Olympics. Pendleton has said she will retire after the Olympics. Guo Shuang of China claimed the bronze medal with a 2-0 win over Kristina Vogel of Germany. — Agencies
