Mark Cavendish secured the Olympic medal which has proven so elusive with silver in the men's omnium - but admitted he was culpable for a crash which threatened to extend his wait for a podium place.

After eight years of trying and at the third time of asking, Cavendish, who has a property in Ongar, finished behind Italy's Elia Viviani, while defending champion Lasse Norman Hansen of Denmark took bronze.

A mid-race crash appeared to be of Cavendish's own making, but there was no protest as South Korea's Park Sanghoon was taken out of the Rio Velodrome on a stretcher.

Cavendish collected his silver with 194 points, as Viviani won with 207 points and Hansen settled for third with 192. World champion Fernando Gaviria of Colombia was fourth on 181 points.

The Great Britain rider appeared to have several confrontations with the media in the mixed zone as he was questioned about the incident, with some reporting he threatened to sue them for suggesting he did it deliberately. Cavendish did admit responsibility.

"It was my fault," Cavendish said. "I should've looked where I was going a bit more. I hope he's all right.

"I apologised to Elia, who went down."

Cavendish had a 16-point deficit entering the concluding points race. Twenty points were available for gaining a lap, but Cavendish was heavily marked and Viviani's advantage was too much to bridge.

Instead Cavendish had to fend off attacks from riders vying to depose him from the podium, steadily accumulating points in the sprints which came every 10 laps to take silver.

"I kept trying to go. It was difficult. It was a strange one," Cavendish added.

"I'm always going to be a marked man. And I decided halfway I couldn't get a lap; no-one was going to let me get a lap.

"So I had to get the sprints. I felt incredible. I could see people dying and I felt better and better.

"But I knew at the halfway point it was going to be difficult to get a lap and I'd just have to pick off sprints one by one.

"Ultimately I couldn't have done any more. I have to be happy.

"Elia was better across the six disciplines. He deserved to win that Olympic gold.

"It's always disappointing not to win, but I did all I could, so yes, I'm happy."

Cavendish's silver ended a long wait for an Olympic medal and came a month after leaving the Tour de France early with four stage wins, taking his career tally to 30, which is second only to Eddy Merckx.

"I made every day count," Cavendish said.

He was ninth in the Madison with Sir Bradley Wiggins at the 2008 Games in Beijing, suffering the ignominy of being the only member of the track team not to win a medal.

He was 29th in the road race on the opening day of London 2012, as Britain felt the peloton conspired against the sprinter.

Cavendish might have had his medal sooner, and a gold one, but claimed Wiggins had frozen him out of the team pursuit.

Wiggins said Cavendish "didn't deliver" at the Newport holding camp.

"Whatever I say now would get click-baited," the 31-year-old said.

"It's great the lads won. They've been together working hard and ultimately they got the world record and gold medal. I'm super happy."

Cavendish felt he could have ridden one of the three team pursuit rounds, earning a medal. And he had a wry smile when asked if he made his point with his performance in the individual pursuit, the second omnium discipline.

He clocked four minutes 16.878 seconds, within two seconds of Wiggins' Olympic record from Beijing 2008, which Hansen went on to surpass.

Cavendish said: "I had to slow down. I would've gone for Brad's (Olympic) record, but you guys would start click-baiting that I did it because I didn't want to be friends with him."

The third discipline, on Sunday evening, was the elimination race and an opportunity appeared to open itself up for Cavendish when Hansen was eliminated.

But he found himself in the wrong position and rode off the track to exit. Viviani, who rides on the road with Team Sky, finished second.

"Normally elimination is my strongest event," Cavendish said.

"Normally pursuit is my weakest event but I was second. Swings and roundabouts."

Cavendish will be 35 by Tokyo 2020 and may have achieved everything he wishes on the road by then, so another Olympic bid should not be discounted.

"I actually don't know if I can be a**** answering all to you lot (media) in four years saying 'you missed gold in Rio, you want to go for gold this time, it's the only thing you're missing'," Cavendish said.

He has achieved two of his 2016 goals - the Tour's yellow jersey and an Olympic medal - and now will turn his attentions to the third, a second road race world title in Qatar in October.

He celebrated with his family, wife Peta, four-year-old daughter Delilah Grace and son Frey, who is one on Wednesday. Finnbar, Peta's son from a previous relationship, was also present.

Cavendish, who flies home on Tuesday, added: "I'm racing on Sunday (at Vattenfall Cyclassics in Germany). It's back to the day job."