From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Israeli cyclist Mikhail Yakovlev briefly sets new Olympic record in men’s sprint
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
Israeli cyclist Mikhail Yakovlev briefly set a new Olympic record in the men’s sprint at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a time of 9.152 seconds.
His time was then quickly overtaken by Australia’s Matthew Richardson, who set a new Olympic and world record of 9.091 seconds, and just a couple of minutes later by the Netherlands’ Harrie Lavreysen with a time of 9.088.
Yakovlev, 23, finishes third overall and will now advance to the 1/32 finals, which will take place later this afternoon.
The cyclist competed internationally for Russia until 2022 when he moved to Israel and obtained citizenship, and has since been competing under the Israeli flag. He is also slated to race in the keirin event later this week.
