British riders Katy Marchant, Sophie Capewell, and Emma Finucane crossed the finish line in 45.472 seconds at the St Quentin en Yvelines Velodrome, eclipsing the 45.487 record recently set by China's Guo Yufang, Bao Shanju and Yuan Liying in June.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games is the first time the women's sprint has featured three riders attempting to post the fastest time over 750 metres of flat-out sprinting instead of two over 500 metres.

The velodrome used in Paris is of a normal standardised length but is slightly wider than usual meaning riders can get more momentum. Record-breaking times were consequently somewhat expected ahead of the event and New Zealand, who eventually finished second, broke the Olympic record with 45.593 seconds.

After Katy Marchant and Sophie Capwell had shot Team GB into second place behind New Zealand, Emma Finucane showed fine form to overtake the Kiwis in the last 250m and qualify fastest with a world-record time.