The highlight of the final day of the New Zealand track championships was a record set in the women’s team sprint in Cambridge on Saturday.
The combination of Rebecca Petch, Olivia King and Ellesse Andrews (Waikato-BOP) broke the national record in their first three-person team sprint.
They were timed at 48.451sec to dip under the previous national record set at the championships last year of 48.475ec.
That time would have qualified the Kiwi trio fifth-fastest at last year’s world championships in France.
"It was a pleasing performance given it was not only their first time together, but their first ever three-lap team sprint," coach Fionn Cullinane said.
"It was good preparation for this trio for the upcoming Oceania championships [in Brisbane] to see if we can go faster."
The championships produced several national world-class records and performances.
The final day of competition focused on team pursuit and team sprint.
Waikato-BOP riders Daniel Bridgwater, Zakk Patterson, Kiaan Watts and Oliver Watson-Palmer combined to win the elite men’s team pursuit in 4min 3.877sec in a dominant performance.
The women’s final also went to Waikato-BOP Bryony Botha, Pru Fowler, Paralympian Nicole Murray and Seana Gray winning in 4min 31.500sec.
Southland claimed the elite men’s team sprint final with Haydn Jack, Nick Kergozou and Bradly Knipe clocking 46.079sec, which held off Waikato-BOP by nearly a second.
In under-15 racing, the Canterbury pairing of Shaylah Sayers and Lizzy Thomson clocked 40.121sec to win the girls 500m team sprint, edging out Southland by just 0.03sec after the southern combination had topped qualifying.
The West Coast North Island combination of Zach Woollett and Ben Murphy was a tick slower in the final of the under-15 boys team sprint than in qualifying but the 37.168sec effort was enough to edge Mid-South Canterbury by 0.2sec.
Southland did the double in the under-17 team sprints.
The girls combination of Riley Faulkner and Caitlin Kelly prevailed in the final in a slick 36.610sec, and Magnus Jamieson and George Manson combined to win the boys title in 33.885sec, nearly half a second faster in the final after being second-fastest in qualifying behind Waikato-BOP.
