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Ron Judd, an Olympics junkie and Seattle Times columnist who has covered Olympic sports since 1997, will use this space to serve up news and opinion on the Summer and Winter Games -- also inviting you to chime in on Planet Earth's biggest get-together.

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August 18, 2008 11:22 AM

Kirkland's Reed ousted from cycling medal round

Posted by Ron Judd

Jennie Reed of Kirkland competes in the Women's Sprint Qualifying at the track cycling event held at the Laoshan Velodrome during Day 9 of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

The Games are over for Kirkland's Jennie Reed, who bowed out in quarterfinals qualifying for track cycling's women's match sprints at the Laoshan Velodrome.

Here's the rundown from U.S. Cycling:

Beijing, China (August 18, 2008)-Day four of Olympic track cycling at the Laoshan Velodrome ended on a sour note for the U.S. squad after Sarah Hammer (Temecula, Calif.) crashed out of the women's points race and Jennie Reed (Kirkland, Wash.) was eliminated from medal contention with a quarterfinal loss in the women's match sprint.

After an early exit from the 3,000-meter individual pursuit two nights earlier, Hammer was looking to rebound in Monday night's points race when she found herself caught behind a crash early on in the 100-lap race. Racing in a tight pack, Hammer wasn't able to avoid the two fallen riders in front of her, crashed into them, and tumbled to the apron. The injury, which was later confirmed as a fractured left clavicle, forced her to withdraw from the race.

After the two intermediate sprints that had been contested up until that point, Hammer had no points. Marianne Vos (NED) was leading the race with eight points at the time. Vos later won the gold medal with 30 points ahead of silver medalist Yoanka Gonzalez (CUB), who scored 18, and Leire Olaberria (ESP), who notched 13.

Meanwhile, Reed was poised to make a run at the medals in the match sprint following her 1/8 final victory over Simona Krupeckaite (LTU) on Sunday. Pitted against Dutchwoman Willy Kanis in the quarterfinals, Reed lost two consecutive rides in the best-of-three format to end her medal hopes in Beijing. Reed attempted to take both sprints from the front but was overtaken by Kanis on the homestretch in each of her two losses.

Track competition at the 2008 Olympic Games will conclude on Tuesday when Reed will compete for fifth place in the 5-8 finals against other quarterfinal losers Natalia Tsylinskaya (BLR), Clara Sanchez (FRA) and Krupeckaite. The Madison pairing of Michael Friedman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Bobby Lea (Mertztown, Pa.) will also be in action in the 200-lap team race.

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