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China sets world record en route to women's team sprint gold

Posted at 2:14 AM, Aug 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-02 05:33:25-04

Following a world record time in the first round and a win over Germany in the final heat, China defended its gold medal in the women's team sprint by again claiming the top step on the podium.

Zhong Tianshi and Bao Shanju posted a 31.895 - just eight hundredths of a second quicker than Germany in the final, who won the gold medal in the women's sprint at London 2012.

China, who had claimed the previous Olympic and world record at Rio 2016  following a blistering Round 1 pace, trimmed off over a tenth of a second by setting a 31.804 in Round 1 against Lithuania. They beat their opponents to the finish by over a second, comfortably clinching a place in the gold medal heat.

In the bronze medal heat, ROC defeated the Netherlands with a 32.252.

Lithuania defeated Mexico for fifth place, and Poland topped Ukraine for seventh.

The women's team sprint wasn't the only event to take place at the Izu Velodrome on Monday. Qualifying for the men's and women's pursuit competitions were also held, with the Denmark men's team and the Germany women's team both setting Olympic records en route to the top spots in qualifying.

The United States finished third in women's team pursuit qualifying with a 4:10.118.