Sophie Capewell, Emma Finucane, and Katy Marchant Shine at Paris 2024

On an electrifying night in Paris, Great Britain's Sophie Capewell, Emma Finucane, and Katy Marchant delivered a stunning performance in the women's team sprint, clinching the gold medal in a competition that saw the world record shattered five times. Finucane, the great-niece of RAF Spitfire ace Brendan ‘Paddy’ Finucane, embodied the spirit of her legendary ancestor with a performance for the ages.

The trio's journey to gold began with a new benchmark of 45.472 seconds in qualifying. As Germany and New Zealand further lowered the record in the first round, Britain reclaimed it with a blistering 45.338. The final was a nail-biter, with New Zealand starting strong but unable to maintain their pace. Marchant was slightly behind her Kiwi rival on the opening lap, 0.133 seconds off the mark. However, she set up Capewell and Finucane to power through and win with a remarkable time of 45.186 seconds.

"Honestly, I literally saw red on that last lap," Finucane said. "To win and break world records, you have to dig deeper than ever before."

This triumph is particularly sweet for Team GB, especially after the recent injury setback for Katie Archibald. The victory provides a significant boost to their medal prospects for the week. The men's team sprint also looks promising, with Ed Lowe, Hamish Turnbull, and Jack Carlin qualifying second fastest for the first round, setting up a potential showdown with the reigning Olympic champions, the Netherlands.

Additionally, the men's pursuit team, consisting of Ethan Hayter, Ollie Wood, Dan Bigham, and Ethan Vernon, delivered a strong performance, qualifying second fastest behind Australia with a time of 3:43.241, almost two seconds quicker than their previous best.

Emma Finucane is poised to become a star of these Games. While she modestly avoided focusing on her individual goals, her performance has undoubtedly given her and her teammates a significant confidence boost. "Getting gold on the first night gives us all momentum," she admitted. "This gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the week."