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London, Aug 8 (IANS): British track cyclist Chris Hoy became his country's greatest ever Olympian when he won the sixth gold medal of his career at the Velodrome at the London Olympics.
Hoy, who also won gold in the team pursuit earlier, produced a titanic ride in the final of the men's Kerin Tuesday, overcoming the challenge of Germany's Max Levy and New Zealand's Simon Van Velthooven.
Hoy looked under pressure with two laps of the 250 metres circuit to go but took the lead on the final curve and powered home in the final straight.
The 35-year-old has a total of seven Olympic medals to his name, the same as fellow cyclist Bradley Wiggins. But no Briton has won more golds than he has over a career stretching back to Sydney 2000.
Hoy's win was the icing on the cake for another magnificent day for Britain on the last day of racing on the track.
Earlier, Britain's Laura Trott and US rider Sarah Hammer battled for gold in the Omnium, a competition based over six different events.
Trott's afternoon began with a scratch race: 40 laps of the track, a total of 10 km with the first rider across the line scoring one point, the second two and so on. The overall winner of the omnium is the rider with the lowest points.
Trott got pushed high on the final bend, allowing Hammer to finish ahead and take a 17-15 lead into the final 500 metres time trial.
That meant Hammer would claim gold if she was able to finish one place behind Trott in the final.
Cheered on by the home crowd, Trott clocked the fastest time, while Hammer could only manage fourth fastest, beaten by Annette Edmonson, who took bronze.
Trott's was the sixth gold medal Britain have won in the Velodrome and takes the overall total for Team GB to 20, one more than they won in Beijing.
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