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Portugal holds off Italy and Denmark to win the gold medal in the men's Madison

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Portugal holds off Italy and Denmark to win the gold medal in the men's Madison
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Portugal holds off Italy and Denmark to win the gold medal in the men's Madison

2024-08-11 01:18 Last Updated At:01:21

MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX, France (AP) — The team of Iúri Leitão and Rui Oliveira from Portugal won the final sprint in the men's Madison after a chaotic 200-lap race on Saturday, holding off Italy and defending champion Denmark to capture the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

Leitão added the gold medal to the silver he won two days earlier in the omnium, pumping his fist in equal parts celebration and disbelief inside a packed Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines on the penultimate day of competition.

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Netherlands' Yoeri Havik and Jan Willem van Schip compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Netherlands' Yoeri Havik and Jan Willem van Schip compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

New Zealand's Aaron Gate and Campbell Stewart compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

New Zealand's Aaron Gate and Campbell Stewart compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Italy's Simone Consonni, left, and Elia Viviani compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Italy's Simone Consonni, left, and Elia Viviani compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Riders compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Riders compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Czech Republic's Denis Rugovac and Jan Bones compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France.. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Czech Republic's Denis Rugovac and Jan Bones compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France.. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Portugal's Yuri Leitao and Rui Oliveira compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Portugal's Yuri Leitao and Rui Oliveira compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Italy's Simone Consonni is helped restart the race after crashing during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Italy's Simone Consonni is helped restart the race after crashing during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Leitão and Oliveira led the Italians and Danes by just two points going into the final sprint, which is worth double the amount the teams receive for the rest of the sprints every 10 laps. And with a big charge down the back stretch, they managed to sneak over the line in first place, giving them 55 points total and the title of Olympic champion.

The Italian team of Simone Consonni and Elia Viviani finished with 47 points to earn the silver medal, while the Danish duo of Michael Morkov and Niklas Larsen wound up with 41 points to round out the podium.

It was the second medal of the Paris Games for Consonni, who helped the Italians win bronze in the team pursuit. And it came one day after his sister, Chiara Consonni, teamed with Vittoria Guazzini to win the women's Madison competition.

The event gets its name from the venue where it originated — Madison Square Garden in New York. It is an endurance race in which teams accumulate points for winning intermediate sprints, and they can earn a 20-point bonus for gaining laps on the rest of the field. One rider is considered in the race at a time, though they can tag in their partner at any point.

Each of the three teams that landed on the podium gained a lap on the field.

The track cycling program Saturday at the Paris Games helped to set the stage for Sunday's finale, when Jennifer Valente of the U.S. will try to defend her omnium title, and medals will be decided in the women's sprint and the men's keirin.

In sprint heats, Ellesse Andrew of New Zealand sent defending Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell of Canada into the last-chance races. Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell of Britain, who won team sprint gold earlier in the Paris Games, advanced into the quarterfinals, as did Lea Friedrich and Emma Hinze of Germany and Hetty van de Wouw of the Netherlands.

Mitchell left nothing to chance in the repechages, going straight to the front and winning it to survive into the quarterfinals.

The first of the five keirin heats became easier to get through when Azizulhasni Awang, the silver medalist at the Tokyo Games, was disqualified. He overtook the motorized pace bike, called a derny, before it left the track to begin the three-lap sprint.

The rest of the favorites, including two-time Olympic sprint champion Harrie Lavreysen — the bronze medalist in Tokyo — and his Dutch teammate Jeffrey Hoogland, made it through to Sunday's quarterfinals without any problems.

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Netherlands' Yoeri Havik and Jan Willem van Schip compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Netherlands' Yoeri Havik and Jan Willem van Schip compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

New Zealand's Aaron Gate and Campbell Stewart compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

New Zealand's Aaron Gate and Campbell Stewart compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Italy's Simone Consonni, left, and Elia Viviani compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Italy's Simone Consonni, left, and Elia Viviani compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Riders compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Riders compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Czech Republic's Denis Rugovac and Jan Bones compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France.. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Czech Republic's Denis Rugovac and Jan Bones compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France.. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Portugal's Yuri Leitao and Rui Oliveira compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Portugal's Yuri Leitao and Rui Oliveira compete during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Italy's Simone Consonni is helped restart the race after crashing during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Italy's Simone Consonni is helped restart the race after crashing during the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Portugal's Rui Oliveira celebrates winning the gold medal of the men's madison event, at the Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Next Article

Japan's exports hit record high, but trade deficit continues

2025-01-23 13:16 Last Updated At:13:21

TOKYO (AP) — Japan saw record-high exports last year, as its annual trade deficit declined 44% from the previous year, the Finance Ministry reported Thursday.

The trade deficit, which measures the value of exports minus imports, totaled 5.3 trillion yen ($34 billion), according to government data, as imports ballooned on the back of rising energy costs and growing inflation around the world.

Exports from the world’s third-largest economy totaled 107.9 trillion yen ($691 billion), surpassing the 100 trillion yen mark for the second-straight year, and the biggest value on record for comparable data, which dates back to 1979, the ministry said.

Some companies may have sped up their exports in anticipation of potential tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has said he expects to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1. During his campaign, he threatened to impose tariffs on imports from China, although details on that remain unclear.

For the month of December, exports gained a greater-than-expected 2.8% on-year, while imports rose 1.8%. Exports grew to Asian and European nations, while dipping slightly to the U.S.

Imports grew most from India, Hong Kong and Iran.

Demand was especially strong for Japan's vehicles, semiconductors and other machinery.

The weakening yen, another recent trend, has the effect of inflating the value of imports. The U.S. dollar has been hovering at 150-yen levels, sometimes surpassing 160 yen, over the past year, while a year ago it was often at 140-yen levels.

Japan has recorded a trade deficit for four straight years, but last year's deficit was considerably smaller than the 9.5 trillion yen deficit for 2023.

FILE - Cars for export are parked at a port in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on July 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

FILE - Cars for export are parked at a port in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on July 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

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