After a 116 year-wait for an Irish medal at a track cycling event, world champion Martyn Irvine is rightfully basking in the glory of his two medal haul in Minsk.
By Declan Whooley
Irvine gave one the great Irish cycling performances yesterday to win a gold and a silver medal at the World Championships in Belarus, an incredible feat considering there was just half an hour between both races. Like buses, you wait a long time for one and then two come along almost together.
The Co. Down man claimed a silver medal in the individual pursuit with a time of 4:24:528 placing him just under seven seconds behind Australia’s Michael Hepburn.
Despite the huge achievement, he had little time to dwell on his stunning performance to win the 15km scratch race, launching a devastating turn of pace with ten laps to go and winning with an average speed of just under 52km/h.
Ireland’s last gold medal was won by Harry Reynolds in 1896 in a one-mile event in Copenhagen.
An Irish world champion has a great ring to it.
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