Majestic Becky James excels to become world sprint champion
Great Britain’s Becky James produced a fantastic fight back to become world sprint champion and collect her third medal at the track cycling world championships in Belarus.
The 21-year-old battled superbly from a heat down in the final to beat Germany’s Kristina Vogel 2-1 and celebrate her first rainbow jersey at a senior championships.
James succeeds Victoria Pendleton who triumphed in Melbourne last year and also keeps Great Britain at the top of the medal table with four golds in Minsk.
The achievement follows bronze medals in the 500m time-trial and team sprint for the British sprint champion, who has the chance to add a fourth medal in Sunday’s keirin.
“I can’t even describe how I am feeling right now,” said an emotional James.
“It’s just not sunken in. I didn’t think about it being Vogel who I was riding against because I have never beaten her before. If I think about the rider too much it messes with my head so I thought of it being another race, don’t think about it being in the world championships just that I wanted to win.
“I stayed really calm, did my thing and came away with a gold medal.
“I had targets in my head and I wanted to get top eights in everything and I didn’t know who was here and what form everyone else had but to be stood on top of that podium tonight is such a good feeling.”
Wins over Cuba’s Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez and Australian Kaarle McColluch on Friday had paved the way to the semi-finals for the former junior sprint and keirin world champion.
China’s Shang Guo was next and in the first heat James successively elected to lead out from the bell to go one up in the best of three tie before decisively diving down the track in their second meeting to undertake Guo and take her place in the final with a minimum return of a silver medal guaranteed.
Team sprint world champion Kristina Vogel awaited and it was the German who took the first heat in the most marginal of photo finishes.
But James struck back in the second , rounding Vogel who had opted to lead the heat out to set up a decider for the championship. In an almost carbon-copy of the second heat, James attacked from a lap out and determinedly saw the race out to the delight of the Great Britain pen and travelling support.
Fresh from the defence of Great Britain’s team pursuit crown, Olympic and reigning world omnium champion Laura Trott began her defence of the title.
Third in the flying lap had given the 20-year-old a solid platform before 10th in the points race demoted her to fifth overall, six points adrift of leader Sarah Hammer.
But in her signature discipline the elimination race she again excelled in victory to cut the deficit to five points going into Sunday.
