Chris Hoy Wins Hat Trick THREE Golds for Great Britain

Five days of consecutive competition, 18 races, three gold medals. After the first two, he moved on quickly, sang the National Anthem, posed for the pictures and mentally clocked straight on to the next event. Only after yesterday, when it was all done and he had God Save the Queened for the third time, did he wrap himself in his father's hug and let tearful emotion tumble.

It may be impossible to be a hero these days without a weep, but allow Hoy his tears because he is not merely the first Briton in 100 years to sweep a triple gold, he is also the genuine thing; a sporting hero for our times, and that is not solely an assessment from the stands, it comes universally from his team-mates. Even when Vicky Pendleton had herself won gold and was entitled to feel the centre of attention, she was delighted to join the chorus.

“Chris is a legend,” she said. “Everyone asks me 'Who is my sporting hero?' thinking I'd choose someone from history. And I say: 'It's Chris Hoy.' He's an inspiration. He's a real role model and someone to whom we in the UK should pay more attention.” You suspect that we in the UK soon will. Your basic details: he is a Scot and proud, he is 32 but wants to keep going, he was a junior international rower, he likes chess, tidiness and making his girlfriend watch YouTube films of famous old sprint races.