Records shattered, China wins second cycling Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020

Zhong Tianshi (2nd L)/Bao Shanju (1st R) of China compete during Cycling Track Women's team sprint final at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in Izu, Japan, Aug. 2, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

TOKYO, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Fresh from setting a new world record, China claimed second cycling Olympic gold after winning the women's team sprint at the Tokyo Olympic Games here on Monday.

Chinese pair of Bao Shanju and Zhong Tianshi finished the race in 31.895 seconds, ahead of their German opponents Lea Sophie Friedrich and Emma Hinze, who clocked 31.980 seconds.

"I did not think too much in the final, only to run for the gold," said Zhong, who paired with Gong Jinjie to win the first Cycling gold for China at Rio 2016.

Earlier, finishing in 31.804 seconds against Lithuania, the Chinese pair bested the previous 32.034 seconds mark set by Zhong and fellow Gong Jinjie at the world championships in 2015.

"The first round, for us, the time is amazing. For the world record, before the games, we could not think about it. But we made it. The final, we think just do it, nothing can stop us," Zhong added.

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team took the bronze by clocking a time of 32.252 seconds to defeat the Netherlands in 32.504.

Team Germany broke the world record of the women's team pursuit in the qualifying race. The German cyclists covered the 4,000m distance in four minutes and 07.307 seconds, shattering the previous world and Olympic record of 4:10.236 set by Britain five years ago at Rio 2016.

The women's team sprint is a track cycling event contested by teams of two women cyclists. The format consists of two rounds: in the first round, teams compete against the clock to set a qualifying time. The top four teams go through to the final round, where the first and second placed teams compete against each other in the gold medal race-off and the third and fourth teams compete against each other in the bronze medal race-off.

This event was added to the Olympics in the 2012 London Olympic Games.