Great Britain Ends 15-Year Drought with Team Sprint Gold

Great Britain secured its first gold in the women’s team sprint at the Track World Championships since 2008, thanks to the excellent performance of Emma Finucane, Sophie Capewell and Katy Marchant. The trio, who are also Olympic champions, wore golden helmets during the competition. They finished over half a second ahead of the Netherlands, who took home the silver medal. Australia rounded out the podium with a bronze in Ballerup, Denmark.

“It feels really, really special because 2008 is such a long time ago,” remarked 31-year-old Marchant. “It has been a long time coming, but we have put in the work. It’s been an incredible season and to finish with gold today is fantastic.” Marchant added that the experience of winning Olympic gold in Paris was unique, stating, “What we did in Paris was so, so special. We craved that feeling again. This feels different but it’s as special in a different way.”

She also discussed the difficulties of transitioning back into training after the high of the Games. She noted that it felt harder than winning the Olympic gold because of the exhaustion from the year. In the men’s team sprint, Great Britain’s trio of Joe Truman, Marcus Hiley and Harry Ledingham-Horn narrowly missed out on bronze. They lost to Japan in the medal race.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands continued their dominance in the event by capturing their sixth gold in seven years. Roy van den Berg, Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland led the way for the team. Additionally, a British quartet consisting of Rhys Britton, Josh Charlton, Ethan Hayter and Charlie Tanfield advanced to the final of the men’s team pursuit. They will compete against Denmark for gold on Thursday.

In the women’s scratch race, Dutch rider Lorena Wiebes claimed gold in her first Track World Championships. She outperformed American Jennifer Valente and New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston, who finished second and third, respectively.