The New Zealand track cycling team move into the penultimate day of competition with energy and excitement for the opportunities ahead.

Today’s saw records from the start with Shaane Fulton, in her first Olympic Games after some years of injury and medical adversity, showing her performances in the team sprint were far from a one-off.

Coming in with a sprint qualifying best of 11.004s, Shaane clocked 10.281s to break not just the New Zealand record but the Olympic record. Her time would later be eclipsed by others on a super-hot morning in the velodrome, eventually finishing as the ninth fastest qualifier.

Teammate Ellesse Andrews, just a day after her heroics in the keirin, was outstanding. As the seventh-to-last rider, Ellesse clocked 10.108 to set a new world record, going under the previous mark of 10.154 held by Kelsey Mitchel (CAN). That world record would be broken twice more in the session, eventually to 10.029 set by German Lea Fredrich.

But it was a hot start. Both kiwis were comfortable winners in their first round of match racing before moving into the evening programme. Ellesse was an impressive winner over French rider Taky Kouame, while Shaane was pipped by 0.01s by Dutch rider Hetty van de Wouw.

Annoyed that she had not converted her chances, Shaane returned later in the programme to dispatch experienced Canadian rider Lauriane Genest, the Tokyo Olympic keirin medallist.

Both kiwis move into tomorrow’s 1/8th round, which will ultimately find the quarterfinalists, and later tomorrow establish the semi-finalists for medals on Sunday.

New Zealand’s pairing of Bryony Botha and Emily Shearman finished an impressive eighth placing in the 30km women’s Madison. The pair won a sprint and rode prominently, if not always able to finish in the top-four for points on the sprint laps.

“We were quite happy with that performance,” said Bryony. “This was not an event we targeted, but I think based on this, that we might need to look to plan a campaign around it.

“It is not an event we get to race very much compared with Europeans, but it was great tonight.”

Tomorrow penultimate day of racing feature Sam Dakin in his preferred keirin competition; Ellesse and Shaane continue in the individual sprint and Aaron Gate and Campbell Stewart form a  hugely experienced and talented pairing in the men’s Madison.