Pendleton plots golden goodbye
Victoria Pendleton began her bid for a third and final Olympic gold in sensational fashion in qualifying for the women's sprint at the London 2012 velodrome.
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The 31-year-old won the event in Beijing four years' ago when it was the only title available to her and on Friday triumphed in the keirin, a new event to the Games programme.
World champion Pendleton opened her final competition before retirement with an Olympic record of 10.724 seconds, qualifying quickest ahead of perennial rival Anna Meares of Australia, who was second in 10.805secs.
The duo were the only riders to dip beneath 11 seconds, with Pendleton gaining top seeding for the knockout rounds as she began her bid to sign off her career on Tuesday with victory.
China's Guo Shuang was third in 11.020, with Kristina Vogel of Germany fourth in 11.027.