Earlier in the day, Shinji Nakano had looked like Japan’s best hope for keirin success at the Track World Championships; but when he failed to make the final, the country’s hopes rested on the shoulders of Kento Yamasaki.
The 31 year old rider from Nagasaki seized his opportunity, catching the wheel of Colombia’s Kevin Quintero into the final lap, and crossing the line ahead of the previously unbeaten Mikhail Yakovlev.
Yamasaki adds the world title to the Asian continental championship he won in India in February this year, and the Japanese title he claimed just a few weeks ago. He gives Japan its first world keirin title for 37 years.
Final (1-6)
| 🥇 | Yamasaki | JPN 🇯🇵 |
| 🥈 | Yakovlev | ISR 🇮🇱 |
| 🥉 | Quintero | COL 🇨🇴 |
| 4 | Ledingham-Horn | GBR 🇬🇧 |
| 5 | Rudyk | POL 🇵🇱 |
| 6 | Hoogland | NED 🇳🇱 |
Hoogland leads into the final lap, but Quintero is on the charge as the bell rings. Yamasaki picks up his wheel into corner one, boxing Ledingham-Horn. The Japanese rider makes his move into corner three, with Yakovlev swooping into the gap behind. Yamasaki holds on, to win by a wheel ahead of Yakovlev, with Quintero third on the inside.
Final (7-12)
| 7 | Nakano | JPN 🇯🇵 |
| 8 | Lavreysen | NED 🇳🇱 |
| 9 | Shah Firdaus | MAS 🇲🇾 |
| 10 | Moro | ITA 🇮🇹 |
| 11 | Kang | TPE 🏳️ |
| 12 | To | HKG 🇭🇰 |
A great head-to-head contest between Nakano and Lavreysen, but not in the race we were expecting.
The two star names finish well ahead of the rest of the field, setting a blistering time despite the lower stakes, over 73km/h for the final 200.
