MINSK — Britain's Becky James pocketed her second gold at the World Track Cycling Championships in as many days Sunday, landing the women's keirin to add to her sprint title on the closing day here. The 21-year-old Welsh star became the first Briton to win four medals at a Worlds and led throughout as she beat home China's Gong Jinjie and Lisandra Guerra of Cuba to give Britain's contingent its fifth title of the event. "Wow. It's going to take a good week for it to sink in, or two weeks, or a month," said James, who became the first rider since Australian Anna Meares in 2007 to win four medals at a single world championships and who endured five straight grueling days of competition. Her stellar showings helped propel the British to nine medals in total, enough to head the overall table having also landed two silvers and two bronze. The gold tally would have been six had American star Sarah Hammer not gained revenge on British Olympic champion Laura Trott to clinch gold in the omnium, the US star adding her own second title having also triumphed in the pursuit. Trott denied Hammer by one point at London 2012, but the American took the honors this time around in Minsk by four points, dethroning the reigning champion. Australia's Annette Edmondson, a bronze medalist in London, again took third as she kept Katarzyna Pawlowska of Poland off the podium. There was heartache for Germany's Kristian Vogel, meanwhile, as she fell in the keirin having lost Saturday's sprint final to James. Among the men, French and German fans were celebrating after French duo Vivien Brisse and Morgan Kneisky won madison gold, beating out silver medalists David Mutaner and Albert Torres of Spain and bronze winners Henning Bommel and Theo Reinhardt of Germany. Defending champion Kenny De Ketele et Gijs Van Hoecke of Belgium came in eighth. Germany's Stefan Botticher won the men's sprint gold, the 21-year-old beating Russia's Denis Dmitriev with the bronze medal going to France's Francois Pervis, who just pushed New Zealander Sam Webster off the podium. Botticher had to come through the repechages after his defeat to British Olympic champion Jason Kenny, who went out to Webster in the quarterfinals. Botticher, who also won Thursday's team sprint gold, gave his country its first individual world sprint gold since 2005. The reigning world sprint champion, France's Gregory Bauge, elected not to defend his title in Minsk. — Reuters
