Tainted gold: Sir Chris Hoy celebrates his win by kissing his wife Sarra. But the victory was mired in controversy last nightWith a kiss from his proud wife Sarra, Sir Chris Hoy savours the moment when he joined the Olympic immortals.
The 36-year-old cyclist equalled Sir Steve Redgrave’s record British tally of five gold medals as he powered to victory in the men’s team sprint. It was one of three golds for Team GB yesterday.
But the spectacular win was mired in controversy last night after one of Hoy's teammates claimed he had deliberately fallen from his bike in an earlier round.
Hoy and his wife Sarra pose with the gold medalThe British team was allowed to restart the qualifier after German-born Philip Hindes crashed seconds into the race.
The trio went on to post a world record time and later won the final against France.
Hindes, 19, suggested the crash was part of a deliberate ploy because the British team had made a poor start.
Team GB sprint team Jason Kenny, Philip Hindes and Sir Chris Hoy pose with their gold medalsHe said after winning gold: 'We were saying if we have a bad start, we need to crash to get a restart. I just crashed, I did it on purpose to get a restart, just to have the fastest ride. I did it. So it was all planned, really.'
Last night British Cycling categorically denied the fall was any part of a plan and said Hindes's comments were 'lost in translation' from a man who began learning English only after moving to Manchester from his native Germany two years ago.
Emotional Chris Hoy wipes away tears as the team take to the podiumThe International Cycling Union confirmed that the incident had been reviewed at the time and the result was not in question – so all three British cyclists will keep their gold medals.
Losing finalists France said the action was not against the rules so they will not dispute the result. But they said it left a 'bitter' taste and they called for a change in the way such incidents are handled.
Hindes subsequently denied it was deliberate when asked about his earlier comments. 'No,' he said, 'I just went out the gate and just lost control, just fell down.
Packed out: Great Britain's riders were roared to victory by a vociferous Velodrome crowd this evening'My back wheel slipped and totally lost control and then I couldn’t handle the bike any more and just crashed.'
There was also gold for Britain in the double trap clay shooting with farmer’s son Peter Wilson. And Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie won the canoe slalom pairs.
source: dailymail
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