O'Loughlin unsure of Olympic status

Cycling : David O'Loughlin faces an anxious wait to discover whether today's record-breaking individual pursuit ride at the world track championships was enough to earn him a ticket to Beijing.

The Mayo cyclist finished sixth in this afternoon's qualification session, narrowly missing out on a chance for a medal, smashing the Irish record in the process.

His time of 4 minutes, 20.9 seconds in the Manchester velodrome, over four seconds inside the previous Irish mark, was enough to defeat world number one Phillip Thuaux in their heat but may not yet book his place at the summer's Olympics.

It is understood today's result elevated O'Loughlin to sixth in the overall qualification standings, with only the top five guaranteed a berth at the Olympics. However, should one of the five riders ahead of the O'Loughlin also qualify via the team pursuit event, the Irish rider would automatically move up the rankings.

With the team pursuit not due on the track until tomorrow lunch-time, O'Loughlin must now wait overnight to learn his fate.

Great Britain's Bradley Wiggins took gold in the event, adding a third individual pursuit world title to his Olympic gold by beating Holland's Jenning Huizenga in the final.

Wiggins, 27, finished the 4,000 metres contest in four minutes, 18.515 seconds.

© 2008 The Irish Times