Laura Kenny suffered a terrible crash in her final event on the cycling tracks of the Tokyo Olympics. Unfortunately, Laura Kenny’s crash in the scratch race ended her hopes to defend her Omnium event gold medal. At the Izu Velodrome, in the first event of the women’s Omnium, Britain’s five-time Olympic champion was hauled down in the last lap.
Kenny had won two of the omnium’s four events. However, it wasn’t enough as she finished sixth overall. The mayhem comprised at least nine riders, with bikes and bodies flying in all directions. Kenny was one of four riders who failed to finish the race. Although, after the crash, Kenny seemed to be unharmed.
Team GB superstar Laura Kenny suffers heartbreaking end to Tokyo Games after being involved in HUGE crash https://t.co/3PWj4ZxXON
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) August 8, 2021
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Impact of The Crash on Laura Kenny
Laura Kenny won the Tempo Race and moved up the results board after crashing in the Scratch race. On the other hand,? Jennifer Valente of the United States maintained her overall lead. In the early sprints, Kenny, Dutch Kirsten Wild, and Australian Annette Edmondson were quick to collect points, but then there was a split, which the Australian lost.
However, Wild hung on to the second place. Similarly, even Valente held on and finished third and maintained her overall lead. After two races, Wild had moved up to the second place, while Kenny had climbed to fifth. Despite the crash in the first Scratch race, all the riders lined up for the second race, but a heartbroken Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) and Daria Pikulik (Poland) soon withdrew out.
Oh my days 😱
A huge crash which involves Great Britain's Laura Kenny.
We hope everybody is OK.https://t.co/owVvRf0Ot7 #tokyo2020 #bbcolympics https://t.co/e2hg5QsXL2
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 8, 2021
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By the end of the event, USA’s Jennifer Valente led the points table, followed by Japan’s Yumi Kajihara and Dutch Kirsten Wild. Laura only managed to finish sixth in the overall points table, despite having the highest number of sprint points. Therefore, she sadly lost the chance to bring home another medal to the Kenny’s coveted household.
Laura Kenny’s Achievements
Laura Kenny (along with Katie Archibald) was crowned Madison champion earlier in the Olympics. This made her the first British woman to win gold at three Olympic Games. With her fifth gold and sixth Olympic medal, Kenny, 29, has become the most successful female athlete in the United Kingdom.
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Kenny was asked what it felt like to have become the first female British Olympian to win a gold medal at three successive Olympics. In response, Kenny told the BBC: ?It?s unbelievable. I am just so glad. I have never wanted to win a race so badly in my life. It was giving me fears like never before. But we went and did it.?
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