Dutch cyclist Braspennincx wins cycling track women's keirin at Tokyo Olympics

Gold medalist Shanne Braspennincx (C) of the Netherlands, Silver medalist Ellesse Andrews (L) of New Zealand and Bronze medalist Lauriane Genest of Canada pose at the awarding ceremony after cycling track women's keirin final at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in Izu, Japan, Aug. 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

TOKYO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Dutch cyclist Shanne Braspennincx won the cycling track women's keirin at the Tokyo Olympic Games here on Thursday.

Braspennincx, who suffered a heart attack in 2015, made a decisive move in the last lap to take the gold, beating Ellesse Andrews of New Zealand to the second place.

The 30-year-old Dutch rider had looked powerful all throughout the preceding rounds, taking the win in both her quarter and semi-final heats.

"That's pure instinct. That's how I do it since I race keirin, I listen to my gut feeling. Of course I know what the others are capable of, but at the very moment itself I don't think," Braspennincx said.

The Dutch rider admitted she had not yet processed the enormity of her gold medal performance.

"I'll have to let it sink in first, it feels surreal," she said, "I can not believe it. I do not know what it was like. I went at the moment, thought I had to go, and I held it."

When talking about the past five years that have included her recovery from a heart attack, Braspennincx said: "In Rio (Olympic Games 2016), I was a spare rider because I had an injury in 2016. I had a long way to come back, and to celebrate it like this is worth it."

Lauriane Genest of Canada had to settle for bronze.