Emma Finucane, Sophie Capewell and Katy Marchant kick-started the medal charge in the Paris velodrome by winning Great Britain’s first Olympic women’s team sprint gold.

They set a new world record – for the third time in the session – of 45.186 seconds to beat New Zealand.

It is the first time Britain has won a women’s team sprint medal, of any colour, at the Olympics.

The British trio started how they would go on at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome by shaving 0.15 seconds off the previous world record in qualifying.

That time tumbled further, with first Germany, then New Zealand eclipsing it, before Finucane, Capewell and Marchant brought it back into British hands in 45.338 secs to secure their place in the gold medal race.

Against New Zealand they trailed after the first lap but, roared on by the huge number of British fans inside the velodrome, they turned the tide as Finucane crossed the finish line 0.473 secs ahead of Ellesse Andrews on the opposite side of the track.

More medals are on the horizon, with 21-year-old Finucane – seen as the next sprinting superstar – set to contest both the keirin and the individual sprint, the event in which she is the world champion.

Capewell is due to also race in the individual sprint, while Marchant – a bronze medallist from Rio 2016 – will contest the keirin.