Many did not give the 33-year-old a chance of winning a medal this year as his form leading up to the Games was quite average.
Follow Us
British cyclist Jason Kenny created history on Sunday when he won the gold medal in the men’s keirin event at the Tokyo Olympics. Kenny’s victory is historic as it made him a nine-time Olympics medalist. He became Great Britain’s most successful Olympian ever. Talks of Kenny retiring after the Games exist but the magnificent victory at Tokyo might change things. Out of his nine medals, seven are gold, which is one more than fellow keirin specialist Chris Hoy. His two additional silver medals took him past Sir Bradley Wiggins who had eight total medals. Many did not give the 33-year-old a chance of winning a medal this year. This is because his form leading up to the Games was quite average. However, Kenny seemed to have found his rhythm back as he won an extraordinary final race.
The cyclist personally admitted that he did not feel confident enough to win a gold medal going into the final race of the Olympics.
“Going into the final, I didn’t feel like one of the favorites, and I wouldn’t have been betting on myself, personally. In that instance, you’ve got to be prepared to take your chances, and a massive chance came along,” Kenny said.
He then spoke about the achievement of winning seven gold medals and becoming his country’s greatest ever Olympian.
“Seven gold medals is really special, when you look back on the ones you have already got it seems pretty easy. Then when you try and get more, you remember how hard it is,” he said.
“It is easy to forget the hard work that goes into it. I have been disappointed this week, I haven’t been as competitive as I wanted to be. But in the keirin you can race hard and ride your luck a little bit,” he added.
His poor form leading up to the Olympics had raised a few questions in the 33-year-old’s head over prolonging his career.
He admitted that he was considering retirement as a serious option. But after the magnificent win, he might just be around for a bit more.
“If you’d asked me this morning (if I’d retire) I’d probably have said yes, but I’m feeling good now so I might just carry on,” he said.
“Before today I had all but given up, I was counting my career in days and races as opposed to years, but maybe I have bought myself more time now,” he added.
“In my head this morning I was 33 and getting slower and you’ve got to think from a British cycling point of view you’d rather back someone who’s 20 and getting faster. It was difficult, I’ve not been able to train the way I want to. It might not be up to me at the end of the day. I might not be able to get back to the level I want, but we’ll wait and see,” Great Britain’s most successful Olympian concluded.
