Tokyo 2020 - No medal equals no job for Japan's cycling coach Benoit Vetu ahead of men's keirin quarter-final

ByNiamh Lewis

Published 07/08/2021 at 14:24 GMT

Keirin is so popular in Japan, the gambling industry is worth $3.29 billion and riders Yuta Wakimoto and Yudai Nitta trained in military-style schools for over 10 years and sacrificed their salaries to chase Olympic medals. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.

The Japanese Cycling Federation's coach Benoit Vetu said he may not have a job after the Tokyo Olympics if his athletes Yuta Wakimoto and Yudai Nitta do not medal in the men's keirin on Sunday.

The Frenchman said his brief five years ago was to deliver a medal in the keirin in the country's home Olympic games.

Vetu, 47, told reporters on Saturday the keirin has been Japan's best chance of a medal: "We've been for five years, every day we come to this velodrome for this moment. So we have no choice, we have to be ready and we have to be good. And if I want to still have a job after the Olympics we have to win the medal.

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"That was the main goal when I came to Japan. I had to see where we could be most competitive and where the best chance of a medal was and it had to be keirin."

Luckily for Vetu, his riders Nitta and Wakimoto produced superb performances to win their respective heats on Saturday and will go through to Sunday's quarter-finals to battle Team GB's Jack Carlin and six-time Olympic medallist Jason Kenny for a medal.

According to Reuters keirin is part of Japanese society and the gambling industry is worth an estimated 362.6 billion yen ($3.29bn). Reuters also reported that both riders came through a military-style keirin school and put their large salaries on hold to train for an Olympic gold medal, which would elevate their careers even further.

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"The real fight starts tomorrow," Vetu said, "They are both 10 years professional racers but they have put their careers apart for five years and lost a lot of money, made a lot of sacrifices. That's why I love this team.

"Japan has been aiming for a medal at keirin, and the level of the riders has risen to the point where they can finally see it. They must compete tomorrow with confidence and power."

Japan have won one medal in the event, since it was first introduced in 2000, when Kiyofumi Nagai picked up bronze in 2008.

Wakimoto, 32, won silver in the 2020 world championships and both riders have the support of the Japanese fans in the velodrome which is limited to 50% capacity.

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