SAINT-DENIS, France — Team GB won a sensational track cycling gold in the women’s team sprint on Monday as the world record was broken five times in a single event.
Britain’s team of Emma Finucane, Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell first broke the mark in qualifying, where all the teams aim to set a benchmark time.
They then saw their record beaten by Germany, before it was broken again by New Zealand in the first round of head-to-head races. However, Team GB topped all of those times in their own first-round matchup against Canada.
It sent them through to the final gold medal race against New Zealand, where Team GB bettered their own mark, setting the fifth and final world record of the night with a time of 45.186 seconds.
“I literally have no words. Phenomenal. Absolutely incredible,” Marchant said.
The women’s team sprint competition in Paris marks the first time that teams are made up of three riders rather than two.
The event has a few basic rules: The race lasts for three laps with each rider needing to lead a whole lap before leaving the track. That means that after two laps, it leaves one rider for the final lap to ride solo.
“We have been working really hard on this. Process for us is really key and we nailed that final. I believed in us before we went out that we could do it but to actually execute Lap 1, Lap 2, Lap 3 pretty much perfectly,” Finucane said.
“To cross the line first I was just like ‘no way.’ It’s a dream come true, I’ve dreamed of this since I was 10 years old and to have these two by my side, it’s been unreal.”
Team GB has fantastic pedigree in the sport, having produced track cycling stars such as Jason and Laura Kenny, Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton.