Swiss cyclist Cancellara strikes gold in time trial
Retiring cyclist Fabian Cancellara has scored Switzerland’s first gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rio. In the time trial, he tackled the hilly 54km coastline course in 1 hour, 12 minutes and 15.42 seconds.
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swissinfo.ch and agencies
The triumph comes eight years after winning a gold medal at the Beijing Games, and just weeks after pulling out of the Tour de France – which passed through his native Bern, Switzerland, last month.
Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands), took silver on Wednesday, having opted to compete despite breaking his hand during Le Tour, while Tour de France winner Chris Froome (Britain) won bronze.
More than a year ago, 35-year-old Cancellara announced that this would be his final season as a competitive cyclist. He began weeping in rainy Rio as soon as Froome – the last rider of the day – crossed the finish line.
Cancellara is the second Swiss athlete to win a medal in Rio. On Tuesday, Heidi Diethelm Gerber of canton Thurgau won the bronze medal in 25 metre pistol shooting.
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In cycling races against the clock, Fabian Cancellara claimed the first gold medal for Switzerland while Karin Thürig won bronze. In judo, Sergei Aschwanden took the bronze medal in the finals of the men’s 90kg category. It was the first time Switzerland won three medals in one day since the summer Olympics of 1952. The…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.