Athens 2004: Pursuit Cycling team

This news segment from Tasmania features the men's 4000m team pursuit gold medal in track cycling.

The Australian quartet had scorched the velodrome track qualifying in a blistering world-record time (3:56.610), setting up a nail-biting playoff with rivals Great Britain.

In the final round, the Australian team – consisting of Graeme Brown, Brett Lancaster, Luke Roberts and Bradley McGee – performed brilliantly, edging out their opponents by a few seconds and winning the first gold medal for Australia in the event since 1984.

Sadly, however, other members of the Australian pursuit squad – Peter Dawson and Steve Wooldridge (who had taken part in prior rounds) – were deemed ineligible to receive a medal, as they were not part of the final round competition.

It's hard not to become caught up in this well-conceived news segment, which effectively captures the cyclists' overwhelming sense of achievement, relief and love of country after winning gold.

The clip also includes the rather amusing situation following the race – where the team was forced to ride back to the athletes' village after their bus had left without them!

Excerpt from Nightly News 7 Tasmania, 24 August 2004.