Becky James and Katy Marchant win Olympic sprint silver and bronze
By Matt Westby
Last Updated: 17/08/16 8:29am
Becky James won silver and Katy Marchant took bronze in the Olympic women's individual sprint at Rio 2016.
James was beaten 2-0 in the gold-medal final by Germany's Kristina Vogel, while Marchant defeated the Netherlands' Elis Ligtlee 2-0 in the third-place play-off.
James' progression to the final rounded off an excellent week of racing in which she also won silver in the keirin and re-announced herself as one of the best sprinters in the world following two years of injury and illness.
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Marchant, meanwhile, claimed her first Olympic medal and in doing so ensured every member of Britain's Olympic track team had visited the podium in Rio.
James said: "I couldn't ask for much more. A year ago I was in a training camp in Valencia and it was my first one back [from injury] and I was so off the pace.
"If I could have seen myself now back then, I would never had expected this. It's a good thing to look back on. I've just felt incredible being here and I'm really, really happy with how I raced."
Both riders breezed into the semi-finals with 2-0 wins in the best-of-three quarter-finals and although James secured another 2-0 to beat Ligtlee in the semis, Marchant fell to a 2-0 defeat to Vogel.
Marchant secured a 2-0 triumph over Ligtlee in the bronze final in a photo finish in the second heat, but James was unable to trouble a dominant Vogel.
