Romero beats Houvenaghel in British one-two
Romero stormed to success in the pursuit final
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Sunday, 17, Aug 2008 08:59
Rebecca Romero has beaten team-mate Wendy Houvenaghel in the women's 1000m individual pursuit as the pair claimed gold and silver for Britain in the velodrome.
Houvenaghel qualified as the fastest rider but it was pre-tournament favourite and current world champion Romero who shone n the final.
Romero completed an amazing Olympic double having won a silver medal in the women's double sculls rowing in Athens four years ago. She is now the only Briton to win Olympic medals in two different sports.
The 28-year-old eased into a comfortable lead at the halfway point of the race and with one lap to go had caught up Houvenaghel by nearly half a lap. In the end Romero won by over two seconds.
Following the win Romero let out a massive scream showing what the gold medal meant to her.
Afterwards she said: "It's magical to be an Olympic champion. It's been so hard, I can't even explain what I've gone through.
"I totally believe in myself now. This was really facing up to my demons. I knew I had it in me - a week ago, I didn't think I did.
"Gold medals don't come easy. When I was crossing the line I had to check it was me."
It was an excellent effort by Houvenaghel who has only recently switched to track racing after spending much of her early career time trailing on the road.
Her silver medal was her first major medal as an individual during her track career.