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| Event type

Individual Pursuit, 3,000 metres, Women

Date25 – 28 July 1996
StatusOlympic
LocationStone Mountain Velodrome, Stone Mountain, Georgia
Participants12 from 12 countries

Through the 1980s, America’s Rebecca Twigg had shared the title of world’s best female pursuiter with France’s Jeannie Longo. Together they had shared the World Championships between 1982 and 1989, save for 1982, won by Connie Carpenter-Phinney, winner of the inaugural women’s Olympic road race in 1984. Twigg had won a bronze medal in the pursuit in 1992, but had again won the world pursuit title in 1993 and 1995. Twigg was known for her brains and her looks as well as her cycling abilities. She started college when only 14-years-old and had worked part-time for several years as a model. Based on her recent World titles, and her past palmares, she was a slight favorite. But she was unable to overcome the Italian, Antonella Bellutti and her new bike, with the revolutionary handlebars and riding position, termed the Superman position for its resemblance to his fictional flying posture. Bellutti led the qualifying and won all her races by over five seconds. Twigg lost in the quarters to Germany’s Judith Arndt. Arndt in turn lost to the 1994 World Champion, Marion Clignet (FRA), in the semis, before Clignet succumbed to Bellutti in the final. Shortly after the Olympics, Clignet would win the 1996 World Championship, with Bellutti placing third. Twigg would race for one more year, retiring after 1997, when she raced mostly in the United States. Clignet was American-born but had been unable to make the US team for international races, so used dual French citizenship to compete for France internationally.

PosCompetitor(s)NOC
1Antonella BelluttiITAGold
2Marion ClignetFRASilver
3Judith ArndtGERBronze
4Yvonne McGregorGBR
5Rebecca TwiggUSA
6Rasa MažeikytėLTU
7Sarah UlmerNZL
8Kathy WattAUS
9May Britt HartwellNOR
10Nataliya KarimovaRUS
11Wang QingzhiCHN
12Seiko HashimotoJPN

Qualifying Round (25 July 1996 — 9:30)

Top eight advanced to quarter-finals.

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Antonella BelluttiITA3:34.130QOR
2Marion ClignetFRA3:35.774QOR
3Yvonne McGregorGBR3:39.545Q
4Rebecca TwiggUSA3:39.849Q
5Judith ArndtGER3:40.335QOR
6Sarah UlmerNZL3:43.176Q
7Rasa MažeikytėLTU3:43.590Q
8Kathy WattAUS3:43.658Q
9May Britt HartwellNOR3:43.824
10Nataliya KarimovaRUS3:45.246
11Wang QingzhiCHN3:49.823
12Seiko HashimotoJPN3:52.745

Heat One (9:30)

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Sarah UlmerNZL3:43.176Q
2Wang QingzhiCHN3:49.823

Heat Two

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1May Britt HartwellNOR3:43.824
2Seiko HashimotoJPN3:52.745

Heat Three

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Judith ArndtGER3:40.335QOR
2Rasa MažeikytėLTU3:43.590Q

Heat Four

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Marion ClignetFRA3:35.774QOR
2Nataliya KarimovaRUS3:45.246

Heat Five

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Antonella BelluttiITA3:34.130QOR
2Yvonne McGregorGBR3:39.545Q

Heat Six

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Rebecca TwiggUSA3:39.849Q
2Kathy WattAUS3:43.658Q

Quarter-Finals (25 July 1996 — 13:55)

Winner of each heat advanced to semi-finals.

Heat One

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Judith ArndtGER3:38.898Q
2Rebecca TwiggUSA3:41.611

Heat Two

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Yvonne McGregorGBR3:41.287Q
2Sarah UlmerNZL3:45.761

Heat Three

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Marion ClignetFRA3:36.446Q
2Rasa MažeikytėLTU3:42.129

Heat Four

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Antonella BelluttiITA3:32.371QOR
2Kathy WattAUSovertaken

Semi-Finals (27 July 1996 — 11:40)

Winner of each heat advanced to final.

Heat One

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Marion ClignetFRA3:35.412Q
2Judith ArndtGER3:38.744

Heat Two

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Antonella BelluttiITA3:34.404Q
2Yvonne McGregorGBR3:40.885

Final Round (28 July 1996 — 12:30)

PosCompetitor(s)NOCTime
1Antonella BelluttiITA3:33.595
2Marion ClignetFRA3:38.571

Match 1/2 (12:30)