Jason Kenny crashed out of the men’s sprint at the European Games in Minsk after losing a head-to-head showdown with his Great Britain team-mate Jack Carlin.
The six-times Olympic champion was sent into the repechage after his latest loss to the Scot, and was subsequently eliminated after being pipped by Vasilijus Lendel in the three-man elimination.
Kenny, who left the arena without fulfilling any media duties, had teamed up with Carlin and team-mates Ryan Owens and Joe Truman to take team bronze on Thursday night.
Carlin will continue his hunt for a medal when the men’s sprint concludes on Saturday, while the keirin the following day will offer Kenny a final chance to grab an elusive gold from the Games.
Great Britain’s inexperienced women’s team pursuit squad settled for the silver medal after being pipped by a strong Italian line-up in the gold medal match.
Megan Barker, Jess Roberts, Jenny Holl and Josie Knight finished just over three seconds behind their rivals having reached the final as the fastest qualifiers.
Barker, whose sister Elinor was part of the gold medal-winning quartet at the Rio 2016 Olympics, said: “I think we can be happy with three consistent rides that were faster than we had in mind.
“We raced the same team just under a year ago and were beaten by six seconds, and this was much closer so we’re getting there and we’re really proud.”
On an otherwise testing day for Great Britain’s boxing team, Pat McCormack, Ben Whittaker and Lauren Price all claimed victories to move into their respective gold medal bouts.
McCormack delivered a stunning third-round knockdown en route to stopping Olympic silver medallist Lorenzo Sotomayor of Azerbaijan in their welterweight bout, and promised more of the same in the final.
“It’s the second best shot I’ve ever thrown,” said McCormack. “The best one’s my thunderbolt backhand. If it lands it lands, but I am 100 per cent certain I am going out to get that gold.”
Whittaker oozed class again as he beat Gor Nersesyan of Armenia at light-heavyweight, while Price edged a tight but unanimous verdict over Darima Sandakova of Russia.
But there were controversial defeats – and bronze medals – for Galal Yafai, Luke McCormack, Cheavon Clarke and Peter McGrail, the latter in a split decision at bantamweight to Ireland’s Kurt Walker.
Walker is one of three Ireland fighters to reach the finals along with featherweight Michaela Walsh and world lightweight champion Kellie Harrington, who beat Agnes Alexiusson of Sweden.
Harrington’s win set up an intriguing match against Finland’s Mira Potkonen, who beat her former Ireland team-mate Katie Taylor in the quarter-finals of the Rio Olympics.
Walker, who has been forced to wait for his chance on the big stage having previously boxed in the shadows of close friend Michael Conlan, said he was relishing his big chance.
Walker said: “I’ve been Facetiming with Michael all week and it’s a great confidence boost for me because he just wants to see me do well.
“I really feel like I’m making up for lost time. I’m a 100 per cent better fighter than I used to be, and this puts me on the map big time, just in time for Tokyo.”
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