When women's Olympic track cycling was expanded to the same number of events as men's and Omnium was first introduced in 2012 in the Olympic Games, supplanting such time-honoured races as the individual pursuit and the kilometre time trial for a single, multi-event competition, it caused no end of controversy. But after four Olympic cycles and some more significant changes in format, the Omnium has now become a well-established and exciting component of both the Games and the World Championships.
In 2021, after leading a crash-marred series from start to finish, the USA’s Jennifer Valente claimed the nation’s first Olympic track gold since 2000 when Marty Nothstein won the individual sprint in the Sydney Games.
