The 2019 men's and women's world champions are Matthijs Büchli of Netherlands and Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong.

[3] At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the Men's keirin took place on 7 and 8 August 2021, with 30 cyclists from 18 nations competing, and the gold medal going to Jason Kenny from Great Britain.

The Women's keirin took place on 4 and 5 August 2021, with 29 cyclists from 18 nations competing, and the gold medal going to Shanne Braspennincx from The Netherlands.

At that time, many leading sprint riders were from the Eastern bloc countries and competed in separate "amateur" events.

Katsuaki Matsumoto (1928-2021) is the all-time professional keirin athlete with the most wins - 1341 - over his career (he retired in 1981 at the age of 53).

At the sound of the gun, the cyclists leave their starting blocks and settle into a position behind the pacer, who is another keirin bicyclist wearing purple with orange stripes.

Cyclists initially settle into different groups, referred to as "lines", where they try to work together with others to maximize their chance of winning.

Two of the referees are stationed in towers along the backstretch (2nd and 3rd corners), while others review the homestretch area from a control room using closed-circuit cameras.

[9] Judges then examine the video of the race and decide if a competitor committed a rules violation and should be disqualified.

Those in the elite SS class wear red shorts with a black stripe, white stars and special insignia.

Each of the keirin velodromes are generally permitted to host one event per year of either GI, GII or GIII designation.

On average there is one GI or GII event every month and one GIII meeting per week on the annual calendar.

Below is a schedule of races conducted during a typical three-day FI event (open to both S-class and A-class riders).

In extraordinary circumstances, races have been declared no-contests, forcing velodromes to refund millions of yen in bets.

As a result of the parimutuel gambling that surrounds keirin racing in Japan, The Nihon Jitensha Shinkōkai (Japanese Bicycle Association or NJS)— now under the JKA Foundation— developed a strict system of standards for bicycles and tools to ensure that no rider will have any advantage based on equipment.

Popular frame manufacturers include Nagasawa, 3Rensho, Makino, Kalavinka, Level, Bridgestone, Panasonic, and Samson.

The few exceptions to this are Italian cycling equipment manufacturers Campagnolo and Cinelli, which received NJS certification for some components.

Girls' Keirin allows for a limited set of non-NJS tires, stems, saddles, and carbon-fiber frames and wheels.

[19] Manufacturers of the frames used in Girls' Keirin are Boma, Bridgestone, Gan Well, Kalavinka, Bomber, and MBK.