Emma Finucane, Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell won gold for Great Britain in the women’s team sprint at Paris 2024 after breaking the world record in all three rounds on Monday.
Team GB clocked a time of 45.186 seconds to beat New Zealand by five tenths of a second, claiming Britain’s first ever medal in an event in which they have failed to even qualify at the last two Games.
The British trio topped the time sheets in qualifying, clocking 45.472 to narrowly beat the world record set by China at a national event in June.
Illustrating the fast conditions of the Paris track, Germany and New Zealand both set world records within minutes of each other in the first round, only for Britain to go faster again with a time of 45.338.
Emma Finucane (R), Katy Marchant (C) and Sophie Capewell won gold for Great Britain
Team GB clocked a time of 45.186 seconds to beat New Zealand by five tenths of a second
Britain were behind on the splits after the first lap but Capewell overturned that deficit before Finucane extended the lead on the final leg.
It sparked emotional celebrations in the velodrome with Marchant, 31, kissing her two-year-old son Arthur at the side of the track while the 25-year-old Capewell could be seen in floods of tears as they embraced.
She’s the fifth mother to win a medal for Team GB at these Games.
Capewell (pictured) overturned that deficit before Finucane extended the lead on the final leg
The trio were overcome with emotion after giving Team GB the perfect start in the velodrome
The Olympic title is vindication for several years of hard work put in by the team to become competitive, after Marchant was left to fly the flag alone at both the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, winning individual bronze in Brazil.
Finucane, the 21-year-old individual world champion, is hoping this could be the first of three gold medals in Paris as she also targets the individual event and the keirin, with Marchant due to join her in the latter event.
