The Netherlands had reason to celebrate and cause for concern at the Izu Cycling Centre on Thursday, while Great Britain's Matthew Walls stormed to victory in the omnium.
Olympic debutant Shanne Braspennincx capped an incredible comeback from a heart attack six years ago to take gold in the women's keirin final, as the Netherlands defended the title Elis Ligtlee won in Rio 2016.
However, her triumph came after team-mate Laurine van Riessen had crashed out in the quarter-finals, taking Team GB's Katy Marchant with her.
Van Riessen was knocked unconscious and had to be taken off the track on a stretcher before she was transferred to hospital for further checks.
"Coach Hugo [Haak] said that our team doctor is with her. I sent her a message but it all went so fast and I had to go on," Braspennincx said when asked about Van Riessen's injury.
"Hugo does that. He told me she's in good hands; you have to focus on your own race now. I was worried about her, she went to the hospital, but at that moment I had to make the switch and focus on myself.
"It's tough to see. I know it's part of [racing] but this is what you really don't want and she was in very good shape as well."
Van Riessen clipped the wheel in front of her as she was about to enter the final lap, sliding straight into the unfortunate Marchant in the process.
"I think that’s just bike racing, wrong place, wrong time, I just hope everyone's okay that was in the crash. I think I'm okay, just a bit battered and bruised but I'm alright," Marchant told BBC Sport.
"I needed to finish the race in case there was something that came up on the results. I'm not really sure what happened, wrong place, wrong time, I just got caught up it in it."
A SURREAL SUCCESS
Braspennincx's triumph is made even more remarkable by the heart attack she suffered in 2015.
The Netherlands have now won the women's keirin event on two of the three times it has been held at the Olympic Games, and it brought up the nation's 10th gold medal on the track.
She finished ahead of Ellesse Andrews – the second woman from New Zealand to win an Olympic medal in the velodrome after Sarah Ulmer in 2004 – and Canada's Lauriane Genest.
"I'll have to let it sink in first, it feels surreal," Braspennincx said. "I can't believe it. I don't know what it was like. I went in the moment, I had to go and I held it.
"I think every athlete can say it's a very long [journey], especially this one. In Rio I was a spare rider because I had an injury. I had a long way to come back, and to celebrate it like this is worth it.
"There is amazing medical stuff still behind me. They tested me through, through and through in order to get the green light. In January 2016 I got to be an athlete again. My journey started again, really, really slow, and with a lot of stuff back. And now I am here in 2021, all good."
TEAM GB'S WONDER WALLS
Despite Marchant's disappointment, there was joy for Team GB in the men's omnium, as 23-year-old Olympic debutant Walls claimed gold in dominant fashion.
Walls, who tested positive for COVID-19 in March, accumulated 153 points across the four disciplines – with the entire event condensed into the space of three hours – to finish ahead of Campbell Stewart and defending champion Elia Viviani.
It brought up Team GB's first track cycling gold at Tokyo, adding to their successes in the BMX and mountain biking events.
Team GB have now won 16 golds and 50 medals overall at the close of racing at the velodrome. Ed Clancy (2012) and Mark Cavendish (2016) have previously taken bronze and silver in the men's omnium, while Laura Kenny goes into Sunday's women's event as the two-time defending Olympic champion.
"I managed to get a good lead coming into the end. It's been a hard day but I came into that points race with a bit of a lead and breathing room," Walls told BBC Sport.
Britain are the first nation to win three Olympic medals in the men's omnium, while Team GB have now won gold in nine of the current 12 events held on the cycling track at the Games.
Stewart's silver, meanwhile, means New Zealand have taken 19 medals in Tokyo, surpassing their record tally of 18, set five years ago in Rio.
WORLD CHAMPION LAVREYSEN ENDS KENNY'S DEFENCE
Jason Kenny's defence of his Olympic gold in the men's sprint came to an end as he was overcome by Dutch world champion Harrie Lavreysen.
Kenny took gold in London and Rio, but the 33-year-old's reign is now over, and Lavreysen looks good to push on for the biggest prize.
The Dutchman was pushed hard in his two races against Kenny, however, with the Team GB rider forcing a two-lap sprint in the second quarter-final heat before Lavreysen pulled away on the final turn.
Lavreysen must get past another Briton in the semi-finals, with Jack Carlin up next.
Carlin looked sharp and showed complete control in his quarter-final win over Maximilian Levy of Germany.
"Another day in the bag, see what happens tomorrow but the legs are feeling good, it's all to play for tomorrow," Carlin told BBC Sport.
"My legs are feeling alright, they're sore but everyone's are sore at this point of the week. I think we take each race as it comes, stick to our principles, keep calm and what will be, will be."
Asked about Kenny's valiant effort, Carlin added: "I think you saw today he was struggling a bit from fatigue. He still went out there and gave it his all, that's what Olympic champions do."
The other semi-final will see Denis Dmitriev face the Netherlands' Jeffrey Hoogland, meaning the Dutch are guaranteed a medal.
Hurzeler prepared for 'intense' Fulham clash
Fabian Hurzeler is expecting an "intense" contest when Brighton and Hove Albion face Fulham in the Premier League on Thursday.
Brighton were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw with bottom side Southampton last Friday but are fourth in the table after 13 rounds of matches.
Fulham are four points behind Brighton after going two games without a win, but Hurzeler is anticipating a tough match at Craven Cottage.
"They are a very good team, good in possession," he said. "They do everything out of compactness and they try to shift and be aggressive.
"It is a very small, tight stadium; the pitch is not the biggest, so it should be quite an intense game."
Hurzeler will have a different vantage point for the match in south London as he is serving a touchline ban after being yellow carded last week.
"Honestly, I trust my team, I trust my staff," he said. "I'm also very convinced that the players will do it on the pitch."
Fulham were stunned 4-1 by lowly Wolves in their most recent home game, which they followed up with a creditable 1-1 draw at Tottenham.
Tom Cairney was sent off and will therefore serve a suspension in the game with Brighton, while Sasa Lukic and Harrison Reed are also out.
Goalkeeper Bernd Leno accepts Fulham will not find things easy against the high-flying Seagulls.
"Brighton are a very good team, very well organised team. It will be a very tough game," he said.
"We'll try to play our game, we'll try to win that game, but Brighton are in a good moment. Hopefully we can keep the points at the Cottage."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fulham - Harry Wilson
Wilson has been involved in four goals in his past four Premier League appearances against Brighton (two goals and two assists), including a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win for Fulham in this corresponding fixture last season.
The forward has yet to start a league game this season, but he has three goals in nine substitute appearances for Marco Silva's side.
Brighton - Kaoru Mitoma
Mitoma opened the scoring for Brighton in their draw with Southampton, making it goals in back-to-back Premier League games.
The Japan international has more goals (two) in his past two games than he managed in the previous 24 (one) in the competition, but he has never scored in three in a row.
MATCH PREDICTION - FULHAM WIN
Brighton have won three of their six Premier League away games so far this season, which is just one less than they managed in the whole of the 2023-24 campaign.
Fulham have conceded in each of their last 10 Premier League home games, meanwhile, shipping 20 goals in total in this run.
However, the London side are unbeaten in all eight of their Premier League games against Brighton – the joint-most they have faced a side without ever losing (along with Norwich City).
Brighton have also failed to win any of their league visits to Craven Cottage, losing three of those and drawing the other.
Furthermore, Albion are winless in their past nine Premier League away matches against London clubs in their worst-such run since between 1961 and 1967 (10 games).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Fulham - 41.4%
Brighton - 33.8%
Draw - 24.8%
Alonso: Schick injury 'doesn't look good'
Xabi Alonso says the injury that forced Patrik Schick off during Bayer Leverkusen's win over Bayern Munich "doesn't look good".
Schick was substituted an hour into Tuesday's DFB-Pokal tie, having only been introduced at half-time, after sustaining an injury off the ball.
The forward has scored nine goals for Leverkusen in all competitions this season, a tally only Florian Wirtz can match.
Asked about Schick's injury after his side's 1-0 victory at the Allianz Arena, head coach Alonso said: "Patrik felt something in his calf.
"He's being examined and we'll see. It doesn't look good at the moment."
Schick played the full 90 minutes for Leverkusen and scored the winner in Saturday's 2-1 Bundesliga win at Union Berlin.
Asked by Bild about his substitution against Bayern, the Czech international suggested he was already carrying a knock.
"I suffered a thigh problem in Berlin. I can't say more now, I don't know," he said.
Nathan Tella scored the only goal of the last-16 tie in the 69th minute, with holders Leverkusen profiting from Manuel Neuer's first-half dismissal.
The reigning German champions have scored in 35 successive DFB-Pokal away games, yet they were not at their best in Bavaria.
Despite having less possession and registering fewer shots than their opponents, Leverkusen got the job done to advance to the quarter-finals.
"It was not our best game with the ball or even with an extra man but we applied our plan," defender Jonathan Tah said.
"It was not immediately easy to adapt to having an extra man. We did not use it in the first half. We were too hectic and wanted to score quickly.
"We did not do it perfectly today but we were effective and then Nathan headed in the winner."
Alonso has now won all nine of his games as a head coach in the competition – only Louis van Gaal and Pep Guardiola (both 10) have gone longer unbeaten at the start of their coaching careers.
Neuer accepts blame as Bayern exit cup to Leverkusen
Manuel Neuer accepts he made a costly mistake after being sent off as Bayern Munich exited the DFB-Pokal at the last-16 stage with a 1-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen.
The experienced goalkeeper was shown a straight red card in the 17th minute with the game goalless for fouling Jeremie Frimpong outside his box.
It marked the first time Neuer has been dismissed in his illustrious career and Leverkusen took full advantage thanks to Nathan Tella's 69th-minute winner.
Speaking after Tuesday's contest at the Allianz Arena, Neuer said: "I tried to get to the ball but didn't get there in time.
"I was hoping he would be in an offside position. I can't change it now. It was a mistake and I have to accept it."
Bayern have won the competition a record 20 times but have failed to get past the quarter-final stage since they last lifted the cup in 2020.
The Bavarians are four points clear at the top of Bundesliga and are 13th in the Champions League group phase in Vincent Kompany's first season in charge.
Despite the loss, which came in the absence of injured top scorer Harry Kane, head coach Kompany remains upbeat for the remainder of the season.
"The fact is we lost and we won't win the cup this season," he said. "But with experience we know this was also a special performance from us.
"If this feeling remains we will win many games but this cup we cannot win it any more.
"It is bitter for us. We won't have a good evening. But if this energy remains then we will win many more games. This team can grow further and we will get our moments."
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