Track Worlds: US women make history with team pursuit gold
Team USA faꦍll three seconds short of world record w🅠hile storming Lee Valley Velodrome for first-ever Worlds team pursuit championship





With the star-and-stripes draped over their shoulders on the infield of the Lee Valley Velodrome at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:UCI Track World Championships in London, the significance of their accomplishment slowly began to sink in among the four US riders who had just achieved the country's 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:first-ever world championship in the team pursuit.
Sarah Hammer, Chloe Dygert, Kelly Catlin and Jennifer Valente sailed into 🌄gold by nearly three seconds over the runners-up from ꧅Canada, covering the final round in 4:16.802 to the Canadians' 4:19.525.
"I've been waiting my whole career to get a gold medal with the team," Hammer said before receiving her medal. "What better p𝔍lace to do it. It's the first medal for the United States in women's or men's team pursuit, so it's a very special night for us."
Hammer attributed♓ the success to the emph☂asis on teamwork.
"This is a speci💧al group," she said. "You don't do what we did tonight without a special 🤡group. We are a team in the whole sense of the word, and I think that showed in all three of our rides. It's very special."
The US riders topped the rankings through𓃲 the two days of competition, setting the best mark of 4:16.180 in the qualifying round on Thursday. The effort was a new US national record, but it too would fall during Friday's first round, when the team rode to a new mark of 4:14.806. The US riders were hard-pressed by the British team in the round as the Britons also set their own national record at 4:16.350.
Canada won their heat against New Zealand to set up an all North American final in the evening session. It wasn’t so easy for the squad as they nearly lost their third rider on the final lap. It appeared the New Zealand riders were about to ride into the final, but the Canadian𒁏s rallied to take the victory by just 0.003 seconds.
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Although hopes among the US team ꧅of breaking the Australians' world record of 4:13.683 fell by the wayside, their historic effort won the day and the raꩵinbow jerseys.
Growing up in Missoula, Montana, Pat competed in his first bike race in 1985 at Flathead Lake. He studied English and journalism at the University of Oregon a🅠nd has covered North American cycling extensively since 2009, as well as racing and teams in Europe and South America. Pat currently lives in the US outside of Portland, Oregon, with his imaginary dog Rusty.