Britain's women power to team sprint gold as records tumble

Britain's women blazed to gold in the Olympic track cycling team sprint when they out-paced New Zealand with their third world record-lowering ride at the National Velodrome on Monday.

Experienced Katy Marchant and Games debutants Sophie Capewell and Emma Finucane made sure the track cycling programme began with a bang for Britain as they dominated the competition.

Welsh rider Finucane, the individual world champion, enjoyed a glorious Olympic bow as she led the team home after being set up perfectly by Marchant and Capewell.

"Katy delivered the first lap, Sophie delivered me for the last lap and I literally gave it 120 per cent," the 21-year-old Finucane, the great-niece of decorated Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot Paddy Finucane, told reporters.

"I literally saw red. I think that's what it takes to win and to break world records, you have to go deeper than your body's ever been before. And I found that, and we all did and we delivered on the day under huge pressure."

For the 31-year-old Marchant, who celebrated with her two-year-old son Arthur, it had been a long wait for a gold medal having earned individual bronze in Rio in 2016.

And for the 25-year-old Capewell there were tears in memory of her father Nigel, a Paralympian cyclist who died in 2021.

"I've had my own personal battles and I wish my dad could have been in the stands watching me but I know he was proud of me," she said. "It didn’t feel real all day, we just did every ride and 'oh faster, oh faster again'".

Britain had not even qualified for the Olympic women's team sprint since 2012 but came in with great expectations and did not disappoint as they clocked 45.186 seconds in the final.

New Zealand's trio of Rebecca Petch, Shaane Fulton and Ellesse Andrews finished in 45.659 while world champions Germany took bronze after beating the Netherlands.

What a moment!! Katy Marchant, Sophie Capewell & Emma Finucane make history here in Paris 🥇

Great Britain have never had a 3-person women's sprint team.
Never won gold.
Not qualified a team for the event since London 2012.

These three women have changed all that!#Paris2024 https://t.co/PgZao1cboH pic.twitter.com/gCTLGpOIR9

— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 5, 2024

Britain has been a track powerhouse since the Beijing Olympics but the women's sprint disciplines have not been a happy hunting ground. That all changed on Monday.

Inside a sweltering velodrome they turned up the heat immediately to break China's world record in the qualifying rounds. Incredibly, Germany's Pauline Grabosch, Emma Hinze and Lea Friedrich, lowered the mark again in the first-round heats, before New Zealand went even quicker.

Britain then beat Canada in their heat to set up a three-lap showdown with New Zealand. They trailed marginally but Finucane flew around the final lap to secure gold.

Dutch sprint king Harrie Lavreysen began his quest for three golds as his team broke their own Olympic record in the men's team sprint qualifying rounds, with Britain second fastest.

The men's 4km team pursuit also got under way with Australia causing something of an upset as they set the quickest time with Britain second and Denmark in third place.

Olympic champions Italy, led by Filippo Ganna, will need to improve after setting only the fourth fastest time.