Tokyo Olympics: Cyclists Matt Walls and Ethan Hayter win silver in men’s madison
| Dates: 23 July-8 August Time in Tokyo: BST +8 |
| Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button and online; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sounds; live text and video clips on BBC Sport website and app. |
British cyclist Matt Walls’ superb Olympic debut continued as he won a second Tokyo medal with silver in the men’s madison alongside Ethan Hayter.
Walls, who won gold in the men’s omnium, again finished on the podium in Saturday’s 50km race where points are awarded for 20 intermediate sprints.
The British pair held the gold medal spot after 10 sprints, having made a strong and consistent start.
They faded in an open race before a surging final sprint secured silver.
It was still not enough to overhaul reigning world champions Denmark, who won gold.
It was Team GB’s 61st medal of Tokyo 2020 – and a Games-high sixth on the cycling track – to leave them two short of the London 2012 total (63) and six short of Rio 2016 (67).
With double points available in the last sprint, Walls and Hayter – who are housemates as well as team-mates – attacked early and maintained their advantage to pip France to second place overall.
“I was cooked halfway in but we had a bit of gas at the end to finish it off. It was everything I had,” said 23-year-old Walls, who had a broad grin during his post-race interview.
More to follow.
