Paris 2024: Sam Welsford finishes 14th in omnium

Sam Welsford has battled through fatigue to finish 14th in the omnium at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The 28-year-old looked a touch off his best throughout the four-race event after a sharp turnaround from winning gold in the team pursuit a night earlier to cap off three blistering team pursuits in as many days.

The Western Australian finished 14th in the opening scratch race but struggled to gain points in the tempo race and finished mid-pack on the final lap, leading to an overall result of 18th overall.

Welsford rallied for the penultimate elimination race to finish fifth.

With fatigue increasing, Welsford was unable to add to his 52 points in the deciding 100-lap points race and finished 14th overall.

Glenn O'Shea - the AusCycling National Track Endurance Coach for bunch events - said the night "was taxing, but probably not as taxing as the last three days".

"To bounce back after the last three days physically and mentally is pretty tough. Mentally he was up for the challenge but you probably saw physically he lacked punch and that kind of thing," O'Shea said.

"He’s fine, just super tired. GB (Great Britain) rider (Ethan) Hayter was probably in the same boat. He's been the omnium world champ twice and they both went so deep last night ... you can’t underestimate what last night took out of them.

"We expect him to bounce back pretty quick (for the Madison with Kelland O'Brien). They're super, super motivated, they love the event and they're really up for it."

Welsford and O'Brien will race in the men's Madison on Sunday morning at 1:59am (AEST).

Results

Feature image: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images