The New Zealand women’s sprint cycling team overperformed today by winning a silver medal.
The team – Rebecca Petch, Shaane Fulton and Ellesse Andrews – set a world record in the relatively new three-woman sprint relay on their way to the final. There they were outgunning by the crack British team, who broke the world record all three times they raced today.
The New Zealand team is an interesting combination.
Petch, 26, finished 12th racing in the BMX at the Tokyo Olympics. She takes on the critical starter role in the sprint relay team. Fulton, 23, is undoubtedly talented but is only making her way in the sport. Andrews, 24, is already an Olympic silver-medallist, world champion in the keirin and a triple Commonwealth Games gold medallist, She’s one of the stars of New Zealand sport.
The feeling in the New Zealand camp was that a 6th placing would signify a really satisfactory effort for such a young team.
Well, they immediately surpassed those expectations when they were second fastest in the qualifying round, recording 45.593s behind the Britons’ 45.472s.
In the first round proper – what some sports would term the semi-finals – the Germans sounded a warning by breaking the world record, then New Zealand, facing Poland, went out and broke that mark, with a 45.348s effort. Britain went faster again with 45.338s.
That meant New Zealand and Great Britain rode for gold and the Germans, despite their world record 10 minutes earlier, were consigned to the bronze medal race against the Netherlands.
In the final, the British were superb, being timed at 45.186s. New Zealand weren’t quite able to replicate their earlier form, but still turned in a swift 45.659s. Petch, who was consistently brilliant, finished the first lap in 18.3s, the fastest lead-off lap of the day from any team.
The New Zealand women’s success sets up the track cycling squad perfectly, and will act as a huge fillip to the riders who follow over the next few days.
Jon Andrews, Ellesse’s father, is the sprint team coach and a former champion cyclist himself - a double medallist at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Andrews seemed almost stunned with the women’s silver medal effort.
“Not many would have picked New Zealand to make that final. When you look around here and see the great cycling nations competing, it’s pretty amazing that we beat all but one of them. But they’re a good team. They train hard, they have a nice bond and they’re close. They’re there for each other.”