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Kristina Clonan beats flying 200m national record

Queensland sprinter Kristina Clonan has set a new Australian record in the flying 200 metres, posting 10.310 at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Friday night.

Aug 9, 2024

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the previous national record was that of Anna Meares, set in December 2013.

Queensland sprinter Kristina Clonan has set a new Australian record in the flying 200 metres, posting 10.310 at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Friday night (Paris time).

Clonan beat the benchmark of Stephanie Morton, which had previously stood at 10.483 seconds.

On the rapid track at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Clonan's time qualified her for the sprint competition in 11th place behind Lea Sophie Friedrich (GER), who posted a new world record of 10.029.

Australian cyclist Kristina Clonan gives a thumbs up to the crowd during sprint competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Photo: Tim de Waele / Getty Images

In her first match sprint, Clonan saw off Dutch opponent Steffie van der Peet.

She lost to Emma Hinze (GER) in the next round but successfully progressed through the repechage against France's Taky Marie Divine Kouame.

The result means Clonan has progressed to the top 12 in the women's sprint. She will contest the 1/8 Finals against Great Britain's Emma Finucane on Saturday (Sunday 1:00am AEST).

The result comes two days after Matthew Richardson set a new Australian (and, for a time, world) record in the men's flying 200m.

Fellow Australian Chloe Moran completed her Paris 2024 Olympic campaign, posting 11.112 in qualifying.

Feature photo: Jared C Tilton / Getty Images