Elia Viviani’s Olympic gold medal hopes seemed to have vanished in a tangle of legs after a crash during the finale of the men’s omnium but the Italian recovered to claim an emotional victory.

Clambering back to his feet after the mid-race mayhem that left South Korea’s Park Sanghoon in hospital, Viviani kept his wits about him during the rest of the 160-lap points race – the sixth and final element of the two-day event.

Britain’s Mark Cavendish, culpable for the crash, chipped away at Viviani’s lead in the standings, as did charging 2012 champion Lasse Norman Hansen of Denmark, but Viviani showed admirable composure in the heat of an attritional battle.

After winning the penultimate sprint, Viviani knew gold was his, barring a last-gasp attack by Cavendish or Hansen. As it turned out, he rode the last 10 laps out in front, leaving Cavendish to take the silver 13 points adrift and Hansen the bronze.

Viviani, a road cyclist for Team Sky, burst into tears after becoming the first Italian to win an Olympic track cycling gold medal since 1996.