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17th Aug 2016

Viewers split over Chris Boardman’s ‘sexist’ comment during Laura Trott and Jason Kenny commentary

He later defended his comments on Twitter

Simon Lloyd

Another cluster of medals on Tuesday confirmed that Rio 2016 was Team GB’s most successful overseas Olympic Games ever, eclipsing the medal tally from Beijing in 2008.

Two of them came courtesy of cyclists Jason Kenny and Laura Trott, who both secured gold medals in the velodrome.

Kenny’s victory in the keirin was his sixth Olympic gold, equalling Sir Chris Hoy’s haul. As for Trott, who is Kenny’s fiancee, her victory in the omnium saw her become Britain’s most successful female Olympian with her fourth gold.

With many watching coverage of the pair’s embrace moments after Kenny’s victory, viewers were surprised by the comments made by the BBC’s Chris Boardman – a gold medal-winning cyclist at the Barcelona Games in 1992.

“She’s doing all the emotion for him – he’s looking at her wondering ‘what’s for tea,’” Boardman remarked.

Instantly, viewers were quick to criticise his remark on twitter.

https://twitter.com/honestoblog/status/765672463745290240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/SiobhanHill1/status/765824040036630528

https://twitter.com/StephieGThorpe/status/765674375609720832

https://twitter.com/shazia_dar/status/765671567237971968

Boardman later responded, explaining that his comment had nothing to do with gender.

Clare Balding, who has presented most of the BBC’s coverage from the velodrome, also appeared to play down claims that his comment was ‘sexist’.

Many others also felt that Boardman’s comment had been taken completely out of context, explaining that Boardman had simply been trying to suggest that Kenny had looked relaxed about his historic victory.

https://twitter.com/McTweenigal/status/765792695088447488

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