Bradley Wiggins: Cyclist wins gold to become Britain’s most-decorated Olympian

A knighthood, Britain’s first Tour de France winner – and now his country’s most decorated Olympian.

Cyclist Bradley Wiggins won an eighth Olympic medal Friday as he and his teammates set a new world record to edge out Australia in a pulsating men’s pursuit final.

Behind for much of the race and still trailing with 500 of the 4,000 meters remaining, the 36-year-old Wiggins led Ed Clancy, Steven Burke and Owain Doull in a storming comeback that culminated in victory by just 0.743 seconds.

LIVE: All of the action from day seven of Rio 2016

“I wanted to go out with this,” Wiggins told reporters after his final Olympic race.

It was a fifth career gold medal for Wiggins, who claimed bronze in the same event 16 years ago at his first Games in Sydney.

This success also vindicated his decision to return to track cycling after winning the Tour de France and Olympic time trial in 2012.

“I wanted it to end like this,” he said. “Not some crappy little race in northern France – Paris-Tours – climbing off in the feed zone. It’s brilliant.”

U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky celebrates after setting a new world record in the 800-meter freestyle on Friday, August 12. It was her fourth gold medal in Rio and the fifth of her Olympic career. She also won the 800 free in London four years ago.

Joseph Schooling won Singapore's first-ever gold medal, edging Michael Phelps to win the 100-meter butterfly.

Spanish tennis players Rafael Nadal, left, and Marc Lopez acknowledge the crowd after winning gold in doubles. Nadal won singles gold in 2008.

Maya DiRado, right, looks up at her time after winning the 200-meter backstroke. DiRado was trailing Hungary's Katinka Hosszu, left, for much of the race but edged her at the end. It is DiRado's second gold medal in Rio.

U.S. soccer players Mallory Pugh, right, and Carli Lloyd react during their quarterfinal loss to Sweden. Sweden won on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in extra time. It was the United States' first Olympic loss since 2000.

The British track cycling team set a world record on its way to winning gold in the pursuit event. Bradley Wiggins, left, is now the most decorated British athlete in Olympic history. He has eight medals -- five of them gold.

U.S. athlete Michelle Carter competes in the shot put final. She won gold with a throw of 20.63 meters, becoming the first American woman ever to win the event. Carter's father, former NFL player Michael Carter, won Olympic silver in the shot put in 1984.

Chinese gymnast Li Dan won bronze in the trampoline event.

French weightlifter Gaelle Nayo-Ketchanke competes in the 75-kilogram (165-pound) event.

Artur Brzozowski, a race walker from Poland, makes his way through the mist during the 20-kilometer event.

Ukrainian boxer Tetyana Kob celebrates a victory in the flyweight preliminaries.

Canada's Kate O'Brien and Monique Sullivan compete in team sprint qualifying.

Argentine sailor Lucia Falasca competes in the laser radial class.

Kariman Abuljadayel became the first female sprinter to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics when she took part in the 100-meter preliminaries. She set a new national record of 14.61 seconds but did not qualify for the next round.

Christine Wenzel of Germany ejects cartridges during skeet qualification.

Mexican swimmer Liliana Ibanez Lopez takes part in the 50-meter freestyle heats.

Croatia's Sandro Sukno shoots on goal during a water polo match against Italy. Croatia won 10-7.

U.S. archer Brady Ellison won a bronze medal in the individual competition.

China's Lu Wen, left, and Gao Song compete for a rebound with Serbia's Sonja Petrovic.

Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana celebrates after winning the 10,000 meters. She stunned spectators by crossing the line in 29 minutes, 17.45 seconds, smashing a record that had stood for nearly 23 years.

Sweden's Linnea Torstensson, center, competes against the Netherlands' Kelly Dulfer and Laura van der Heijden during a preliminary handball match.

U.S. athlete Raven Saunders competes in the shot put.

A remote-control car carries the discus in the men's qualifying round.

Germany's Claudia Rath competes in the high jump portion of the heptathlon.

France's Jeremy Cadot reacts during the team foil quarterfinal against China.

From left, Cuba's Yorgelis Rodriguez, Germany's Claudia Rath, the Netherlands' Anouk Vetter and Great Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson compete in the 100-meter hurdles during the heptathlon.

A rower prepares boats for a training session.

Rio Olympics: Day 7

Prev Next

The triumph ensured Britain took men’s team pursuit gold for the third Games in succession, with Clancy having been part of all three teams.

“It was a pretty spectacular race, but when you’re in the middle of it, you’re just focused on what you have to do,” Wiggins added. “You’re not really aware of what’s going on.

“It wasn’t until two laps to go that I even knew where the Aussies were. Now it’s done, and it’s more relief than anything. I was just saying to myself, ‘Thank God that’s over.’ I don’t have to live with this anymore. It’s gone now.

“Two years ago, all this press has been building up. I never underestimated it for one minute – I gave up the road, and gave up the big salary, and I was just a number again.”

Read: Phelps breaks a 2,160-year record

Wiggins’ achievement somewhat overshadowed that of Clancy, who won his third successive team pursuit gold.

“This is the best gold medal of them all,” the 31-year-old said.

“We’ve had some big downs and crossing the line,” added Clancy, whose team suffered defeat to New Zealand in the final of the 2015 world championships and Australia last year. “It made every single pedal rev and every training session worthwhile.”

Burke was alongside Clancy when the British quartet won the London 2012 event.

“I really wanted to defend the title,” he said. “It all came together for us. This is the best team we’ve ever had.”

Read more: Full Olympics coverage

Britain’s form in the velodrome is ominous for its rivals. A gold medal Thursday in the men’s team sprint was followed Friday by Callum Skinner and reigning champion Jason Kenny both setting Olympic records in the individual event.

Meanwhile, the Chinese pairing of Jinjie Gong and Tianshi Zhong dominated the women’s team sprint, beating Russia in the final. Gong had won silver in the same event at London 2012.