Lea Sophie Friedrich of Germany, center, shows her gold medal, with Mina Sato of Japan with her silver medal, left, and Yana Tyshchenko of Russia with her bronze medal, right, in the Women's Keirin Finals at the UCI Track Cycling World Championship in Roubaix, northern France, on Oct. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Mina Sato won silver in the women's keirin at the track cycling world championships held in Roubaix, France, on Sunday to become Japan's first-ever female medalist in the event.

       Lea Sophie Friedrich of Germany won the keirin title for her third gold medal of the 2021 world championships, beating Sato and Russia's Yana Tyshchenko in the six-person final.

       "I was competing in my first world championships and I was so nervous I even dreamed about it, but I was happy to get on the podium. Now I am even more eager to finish first in my next race," the 22-year-old Sato said.

       Japan has won silver in the men's keirin in three straight worlds, the most recent claimed by Yuta Wakimoto in 2020.

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0