Olympic Track Cycling: Great Britain Wins Gold in Women’s Team Sprint

Emma Finucane, Sophie Capewell and Katy Marchant kicked off the medal race at the Paris velodrome by winning Britain’s first ever gold medal in the women’s Olympic team sprint.

They set a new world record for the third time in the session: 45.186 seconds, beating New Zealand.

It is the first time that Great Britain has won a medal of any colour at the Olympic Games.

The British trio started as they did at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines cycling stadium by shaving 0.15 seconds off the previous world record in qualifying.

That time was further reduced, first by Germany and then New Zealand, before Finucane, Capewell and Marchant returned the time to Britain in 45.338 seconds to secure their place in the race for gold.

They trailed New Zealand after the first lap but, cheered on by the large number of British fans in the velodrome, they turned the tide when Finucane crossed the finish line 0.473 seconds ahead of Ellesse Andrews on the other side of the track.

More medals are on the horizon, with the 21-year-old Finucane – seen as the next sprinter – competing in both the keirin and the individual sprint, the event in which she became world champion.

Capewell will also compete in the individual sprint, while Marchant, who won bronze in Rio in 2016, will compete in the keirin.