JACK CARLIN put down an impressive marker in the opening rounds of the individual sprint in the Olympic velodrome in Tokyo, setting a new Olympic record in his opening ride in the early hours of the morning.
Carlin is making his Olympic debut at these Games and has already picked up a silver medal in the team sprint, with the GB squad finishing in second place behind the Netherlands yesterday.
The Paisley rider knows he has an excellent chance of adding to his medal haul in the individual sprint, and he duly showed his form by setting a new Olympic record in the first round.
That did not last long, however, with the Dutch riders, Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland, both of whom had been part of the Dutch squad that had hammered GB in yesterday’s team final, going faster just minutes later.
In the round of the last 16, Carlin survived a scare in his race against Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom of Malaysia, which saw the Scot forced off the track.
However, both riders remained upright, Carlin retained his lead and crossed the line 0.132 seconds ahead to progress.
Two-time Olympic champion in the event, Jason Kenny, who was also part of the silver medal-winning trio in the team event, progressed to the quarter-finals, defeating Yuta Wakimoto by a mere 0.012 seconds. However, the Englishman will have a considerably harder path to the podium than Carlin, with the Scot likely to get the easier of the rides from now on having qualified as third fastest rider. Kenny, though, has considerable experience to draw upon as the medal races beckon.
The quarter-finals begin at 7:48am tomorrow, with Carlin going in heat three against France’s Sebastian Vigier.
Kenny is in heat five against Denis Dmitriev of the Russian Olympic Committee, with the GB pair hopeful of progressing to the semi-finals, which take place on Friday morning.
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