Australia wins men’s team pursuit gold in world-record time

Published Apr. 5, 2018 10:24 a.m. ET

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Australia has won the men's 4,000-meter team pursuit in a world record 3 minutes, 49.804 seconds to secure Commonwealth Games gold.

Kelland O'Brien joined Leigh Howard, Alex Porter and Sam Welsford in the team to beat England for the title and lower the previous record of 3:50.265, which Britain set at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. It was one of three gold medals for Australia at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane on the opening night of track cycling competition.

The Gold Coast is staging the 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games, but cycling and shooting events are being held in refurbished Brisbane venues that were initially built for the 1982 Games.

The Australian women's pursuit team overtook New Zealand on the last lap to win in a games-record time.

Australian duo Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch then beat New Zealand to win the women's team sprint, finishing in 32.488.

The New Zealanders picked up their first gold medal on the track with a victory over England in the men's team sprint.