# Finucane sets new world record on her way to European sprint title

*By Simon | February 3, 2026*

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![2026 UEC Track Elite European Championships](https://globalkeirin.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/OH8_8914.jpg)

## 󠀁[Finucane sets new world record on her way to European sprint title](https://globalkeirin.com/2026/02/finucane-sets-new-world-record-on-her-way-to-european-title/)󠁿

3 February 2026

Great Britain’s [Emma Finucane](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/emma-finucane/)
is the new holder of the women’s flying 200 world record, posting a time of
9.759 in qualifying for the sprint competition at the 2026 European
Championships, held at the high-altitude Konya track in Türkiye.

Her team-mate [Sophie Capewell](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/sophie-capewell/)
was among the early starters in Monday’s qualifying session. She became only the
second woman in history to go under 10 seconds, and briefly held the title of
Europe’s fastest woman, with her time of 9.982 – just 0.006 slower than
[Yuan Liying](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/yuan-liying/)‘s historic
performance at the same Konya track
[last March](https://globalkeirin.com/2025/03/yuan-is-first-woman-to-break-10s-for-flying-200/)
.

But Finucane was on a mission, having made no secret of her desire to claim the
record. “It’s a really fast track and I just think, why not?”, she had said in
the run-up to the event. “Obviously watching (her partner)
[Matthew (Richardson)](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/matthew-richardson/) do it
too ignited something in me. That’s the first goal of 2026.”

![2026 UEC Track Elite European Championships](https://globalkeirin.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/OH8_6378-1125x750.jpg)

_Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com_

“I was really nervous to execute the perfect ride,” she said afterwards, “and I
think I pretty much went out there and did everything I possibly could
technically. To come away, to look at the board and see 9.759 and break the
world record is unbelievable.”

Finding definitive lists of national records is not an easy task! – but
_Global Keirin_‘s research team concluded that eight national records were
broken in the session, by (ahem)
[Zita Gheyssens](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/zita-gheyssens/),
[Veronika Jaborníková](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/veronika-jabornikova/),
[Mathilde Gros](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/mathilde-gros/),
[Miriam Vece](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/miriam-vece/),
[Hetty van de Wouw](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/hetty-van-de-wouw/),
[Alina Lysenko](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/alina-lysenko/) and
[Helena Casas Roige](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/helena-casas-roige/) … plus,
of course, Finucane.

The Welsh woman saw off
[Nicky Degrendele](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/nicky-degrendele/),
[Iana Burlakova](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/iana-burlakova/) and
[Alina Lysenko](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/alina-lysenko/) on her way to a
final against compatriot Capewell – which she won in two, the first by half a
bike-length… the second
[more decisively](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7jXxwYWQ16E).

![Photofinish Gold - Race 1](https://globalkeirin.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Photofinish-Gold-Race-1.jpeg)

Finucane’s week is understood to be done: she is not on the start list for
Wednesday’s kilometre time trial, and is not expected to line up for keirin on
Thursday.

Meanwhile, the men’s sprint competition got underway on Tuesday: Richardson was
the only man able to break nine seconds, but his world record of 8.857 survived
the day. _Global Keirin_ believes nine riders (🇧🇪🇧🇬🇪🇸🇮🇹🇨🇿🇬🇷🇳🇴🇭🇺🇳🇱) ended the
qualifying session with new national records – with another five riders having
temporarily held the honour.

**Categories:** Original