Rebecca Romero won Olympic cycling gold in the women's pursuit at the Laoshan Velodrome, beating fellow Briton Wendy Houvenaghel in the final.

Romero becomes the first British woman to win two medals in two summer Olympic sports, having won a silver in rowing in Athens four years ago.

The 28-year-old from Surrey was over three seconds quicker than 33-year-old Houvenaghel, who was born in Northern Ireland but represented England in the last Commonwealth Games.

It's not the reaction I'd imagined (to winning gold) but it's magical," she said. "It's been so hard, I can't explain what I had to go through. I totally believe in myself now - I did before, but that was the ultimate, facing demons and up against top opposition today.

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"I knew it was in me - a week ago it wasn't. Gold medals don't come easy, that's for sure."