In an incredible race for Olympic gold, the quartet of Kristen Faulkner, Jennifer Valente, Lily Williams, and Chloe Dygert from the United States landed themselves on top of the podium for the first time in their country’s history at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Wednesday, 7 August.
It was a nail-biter of a race, as the Americans took an early lead on New Zealand, setting themselves up for what could have been a world record, but with just one kilometer to go things began falling apart as a gap grew between the American riders.
But with a spectacular recovery, the USAS crossed the line in 4:04.306 for a gold-medal finish.
“It is pretty surreal,” Williams said about their time. “I do not think anybody expected this.
“We thought we would ride around a 4:07 on a perfect day, so this goes beyond that.”
New Zealand, which has shown superb skill throughout the entire competition, clinched the silver medal after finishing just over a half-second behind the USA, posting a final time of 4:04.927.
The battle for bronze reached comparable levels of excitement, as Great Britain trailed Italy for 3800m of the 4km race, but came from behind to fly across the finish line in 4:06.389.
Thousands of Team GB fans in the stands at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome exploded with excitement as they claimed the third and final spot on the podium in Paris.
“I knew I had three laps to win us or lose us a bronze medal, and we won,” said Team GB’s Josie Knight.
“It was the ride of our lives,” added teammate Elinor Barker.
The Brits, who finished second at Tokyo 2020, continue their string of medals in the event that has held strong since the event made its Olympic debut at their home Games in 2012.
Source link : https://olympics.com/en/news/paris-2024-track-cycling-women-usa-gold-team-pursuit
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Publish date : 2024-08-07 19:32:12
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