Japan dethrone Dutch to win women's team pursuit
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Japan dethroned defending champions the Netherlands to claim gold in the women's Olympic team pursuit final on Wednesday as the Dutch took the silver medal. The Japanese trio of Miho Takagi, Ayano Sato and Nana Takagi set an Olympic record of two minutes andJapan dethrone Dutch to win women's team pursuit
Japan dethroned defending champions the Netherlands to claim gold in the women's Olympic team pursuit final on Wednesday as the Dutch took the silver medal. The Japanese trio of Miho Takagi, Ayano Sato and Nana Takagi set an Olympic record of two minutes and 53.89 seconds, beating the previous record set by the Netherlands during Monday's quarter-final by 1.72 seconds. The United States edged Canada for bronze, their first Olympic speed skating medal since the Vancouver Games in 2010, with Heather Bergsma, Brittany Bowe and Mia Manganello finishing 0.45 seconds ahead of their local rivals. «Clocking this lap time at the Olympics will give confidence to all the Japanese people,» a glowing Miho told reporters. «I'm so happy to have achieved an Olympic record that a lot of young Japanese skaters can go for. Her beaming elder sister Nana added: »I'm so proud that I was able to compete in the best race for the best Olympic Games". The Netherlands team of Lotte van Beek, Ireen Wust and Antoinette de Jong easily beat the U.S. in their semi-final, but were outskated by Japan even though they brought in the fresh legs of substitute Marrit Leenstra for the final. World record holders... Read more