- Richardson fell to Harrie Havreysen in the race for the gold medal
- Both stars had broken the world record at the Paris Games.
Only the greatest cyclist of all time could stop Matthew Richardson from winning sprint cycling gold in Paris, according to the Australian star’s coach.
Dutch great Harrie Havreysen successfully defended his Olympic sprint title, beating the Australian in the race for the gold medal.
Lavreysen has also won the last five world titles in this event. The Dutch become the first country to win more than one gold medal on the Paris track after seven decided events.
“I haven’t been beaten much in the last three or four years and if I have been beaten, it’s been Matthew,” Lavreysen said.
“Watching him in the final was tough. I expected it to be tough, but we finished very close.”
“He did a great job… I respect him a lot. He was the best opponent I’ve ever had in an Olympic final.”
It is Richardson’s first individual Olympic medal after winning bronze earlier this week in the team sprint.
He was attempting to become only the second Australian to win gold in the men’s sprint, after Ryan Bayley in 2004.
Richardson (right) and Lavreysen (right) both broke the world record in the run-up to the final, but the Dutch maestro added gold to his five consecutive world titles on Saturday morning (AEST).
The Australian added his silver to the bronze he won in the team sprint to give cycling in green and gold its best results in the men’s Olympic sprint in 20 years.
Richardson’s silver and bronze in the team sprint are Australia’s first Olympic medals in men’s sprint events since Bayley won the sprint and keirin in Athens.
Richardson and Matt Glaetzer will compete in the opening rounds of the keirin on Saturday.
Lavreysen broke the world record for the 200m fly in qualifying; Richardson also broke the old mark and was second fastest.
The Dutch great was also part of the combination that dipped below 41 seconds for the first time as they defended their Olympic team sprint title.
Richardson, like Lavreysen, had made no mistakes in the speed event until the gold medal play-off, when he crashed into a Dutch brick wall.
The Australian made few mistakes and took advantage of his acceleration in the final corner, as he had done to lethal effect in previous rounds.
But Lavreysen was a little better.
“We just saw the greatest sprinter of all time … in terms of pace and speed,” Australian assistant coach Scott Gardner said of Lavreysen.
Lavreysen (centre) and bronze medallist Jack Carlin (right) of Britain put a smile on Richardson’s face with a display of enthusiasm on the podium.
“We knew everything had to go right tonight to get close to him, and it did.”
Earlier on Friday, the Australian beat Lavreysen’s compatriot Jeffrey Hoogland two sets to zero in their semi-final, pumping his fist in euphoria as he finished the second race.
Lavreysen similarly dispatched his British opponent Jack Carlin, without needing the deciding set.
Hoogland and Carlin had each won a heat in the bronze medal final, forcing the final, which the British rider won.
Australian world championship silver medallists Georgia Baker and Alex Manly finished ninth in the Madison, which was won by Italy ahead of Great Britain and the Netherlands.
Also on Friday at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome outside Paris, Australian Kristina Clonan made an encouraging start in the women’s sprint.
Clonan qualified 11th fastest in 10.310 seconds, with Germany’s Lea Friedrich becoming the latest rider to set a world record on the super-fast velodrome by clocking 10.029.
The Australian then showed impressive track ability in her Olympic debut to beat Dutchwoman Steffie van der Peet and advance to the second round, which will also take place in the Friday evening session.