LONDON — China was downgraded from gold to silver for an illegal change in the women’s team sprint at the track cycling world championships on Wednesday, handing the title to Russia.
Initially, it looked to be a repeat of last year’s top two at the worlds in Paris, with China and Russia taking gold and silver respectively.
But Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi were penalized for the change, with the gold going to Daria Shmeleva and Anastasiia Voinova.
New Zealand won the men’s team sprint title, beating the Netherlands in the final in 43.257 seconds.
Rebecca Wiasak of Australia made a successful defence of her individual pursuit title, clocking 3:34.099 to beat Malgorzata Wojtyra of Poland by 7.8 seconds.
Sebastian Mora won the scratch race, adding the world title to European gold.