Silver and Bronze but no gold at World Cup opener in Colombia
Australia's Matt Glaetzer in the world cup leader's jersey during the men's sprint (Image credit: Guy Swarbrick)
Australia finished the first of the 2015-16 Track World Cup rounds in Colombia with three medals, silver in the men's keirin and women's team sprint along with bronze in the men's team pursuit. The third day of the World Cup saw Australia post several top-ten results but there would be no final day gold.
Matthew Glaetzer, the Keirin silver medallist, was Australia's representative in the men's sprint which he finished fifth having won the fifth to eighth final. One of the last to qualify, Glaetzer got the better of Korea's Chaebin Im in the 1/16 final before breezing past Edward Dawkins (New Zealand) in the 1/8 finals for his spot in the quarterfinals.
Glaetzer then found himself up against Denis Dmitriev of Russia who got the better of the Australian in the first race. Glaetzer then got the better of the Russian to take it to a third and deciding race. Dmitriev though would prove to be too fast and too strong, moving through to the semifinal and final, taking the gold medal while Glaetzer won the fifth to eighth final as a consolation.
Stephanie Morton, who along with Anna Meares won the women's team sprint silver, failed to make the women's Keirin final but bounced back by winning the 7-12 Final.
"The day didn't start off so great but I managed to end the day with some really solid performances," Morton said. "It's not often we get to race at this level so I really made the most of it and soaked up as much as I could."
Morton placed seventh in her first round which saw her headed to the repercharge in order to advance to the second round but after taking an early lead was boxed in and crossed the line in fifth. In the minor final, Morton made sure not to repeat her earlier move as she stayed in front to claim a confidence boosting win.
"I learned a lot which is the main thing. Overall I'm really happy with the start of the 15/16 season," added Morton. "I've put down some solid performances and times so hope to keep doing that as the season rolls on."
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In the other final day events, Jackson Law and Daniel Fitter teamed up in the men's madison as they finished sixth. Having taken points early, the duo occupied a medal position half-way through the race but with Spain and Germany both taking laps on the field the Australians were pushed down the standings with Germany, Spain and Switzerland taking home the medals.
Sam Welsford then finished 12th in the men's omnium with second place in the 1km time trial and victory in the flying lap for his first win in the event at a World Cup. Elissa Wundersitz represented Australia in the women's omnium, finishing in 24th place as Laura Trott (Great Britain) claimed gold.
