Emma Finucane sets new world record

Welsh cyclist Emma Finucane has achieved her aim of breaking the women’s flying 200m track world record at the 2026 UEC European Track Championships.

The 23-year-old became just the third woman to go under 10 seconds when she clocked a time of 9.759 seconds in qualifying for the individual sprint in Konya, Turkey, eclipsing Chinese rider Yuan Liying’s 9.976 in the process.

Finucane said: “I set the stakes high, I let everyone know that I wanted to break this world record and I think every girl coming into this competition wanted to take the opportunity too.

“I was really nervous, I was really nervous to execute the perfect ride and I think I pretty much went out there and did everything I possibly could technically and to come away, to look at the board and see 9.759 and break the world record is unbelievable, I just can’t believe it.”

The British quartet of Millie Couzens, Katie Archibald, Josie Knight and Anna Morris later broke the world record for the women’s team pursuit when they clocked 4:03.634 in qualifying.