Sprint, Men

Chris Hoy of Great Britain was the defending Olympic champion in the men’s sprint, but the British cycling team opted to not select him for the event in 2012, paving the way for his teammate and runner up in 2008 Jason Kenny to recapture the title. It was a risky move because Kenny had never defeated the favorite, France’s Grégory Baugé. Baugé had earned the individual World Championship title every year since the 2008 Olympics, although Kenny is credited with the victory in 2011 because Baugé received a backdated suspension for missing doping tests. Furthermore, Baugé was a member of five World Championship-winning team sprint squads although, as with the individual, he had to surrender his 2011 victory. Kenny, on the other hand, earned team sprint gold in Beijing (and repeated the feat in London) and would certainly have the hometown advantage going into the event.

This support must have had some effect, for Kenny posted the fastest time in the qualification round, over two-tenths of a second faster than Baugé. In fact Baugé was outclassed by Kenny in every round of the competition and, by the time of the final, Kenny’s fellow Britons had packed the London Velopark to capacity to cheer him on. In both races, Baugé was unable to match Kenny’s raw power, allowing Kenny to successfully defend the Olympic title for his country and its dominance in 2012 cycling events. In the bronze medal match Australian Shane Perkins, a World Champion in keirin and the team sprint, defeated Njisane Nicholas Phillip of Trinidad and Tobago, a rookie whose surprising survival in the competition and solid determination earned him the endearment of many cycling fans in London.