Victoria Pendleton storms to Keirin gold - Cycling - Olympics - The Independent

Victoria Pendleton claimed Great Britain's third gold medal in two days of competition at the London 2012 Olympic velodrome with a stunning triumph in the Keirin.

The 31-year-old from Bedfordshire, who is set to retire after London 2012, stormed to victory. Guo Shuang of China was second, with Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong third.

The win sparked jubilant scenes from coach Jan van Eijden, British Cycling performance director Dave Brailsford and head coach Shane Sutton and was Britain's third gold medal of the track programme after Sir Chris Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny won the men's team sprint on day one.

"I can barely believe it right now," Pendleton told BBC1. "It was really hard with the excitement of the great job the girls did qualifying with a world record and then the guys smash the world record and win a gold medal - I was just, like, 'focus, Vic, focus. You've still got a race'. But it was so hard. I can't believe it.

"Thank you so much to everyone who's helped me get here. The crowd have been fantastic and it really helped me today."

PA

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