Kiwis break team sprint Olympic record

The word champion combination of Eddie Dawkins, Sam Webster and Ethan Mitchell found clocked 42.535 seconds in their first round ride to beat Britain’s Olympic record which they set in qualifying. Wiggins is 6ft 3ins or 1m 90.5cm.

The officials measured his height and he made a rude gesture with each hand.

Trott, along with Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker and Joanna Rowsell-Shand, clocked a time of four minutes 13.260 seconds at the Velodrome to beat the U.S. by just over a second (4:14:286) and reclaim the world record they lost to Australia in February 2015.

Britain will meet Canada in Saturday’s first round, with the winners going through to ride off for gold against Australia or the USA.

The British team of Jason Kenny, Philip Hindes and Callum Skinners had a time of 42.562 to better the Kiwis’ national record of 42.673.

And it appeared Australia’s quartet were riding within themselves in the final qualification heat, to go through in third in 3:55.606. They came from nowhere to triumph four years ago in London as Sir Chris Hoy claimed the fifth of his six Olympic golds.

It surpassed the mark of Australia (4:13.683) set at last year’s world championships and threw down the gauntlet to world champions the United States who were second quickest.

The performance of the team sprint squad was something of a surprise.

The team sprint was his weakest event prior to Rio, but with that apparently resolved it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he could equal Hoy’s haul of three gold medals from one Games.