Japan dethrone Dutch to win women's team pursuit

Speed Skating - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Team Pursuit Competition Finals - Gangneung Oval - Gangneung, South Korea - February 21, 2018. Miho Takagi, Ayaka Kikuchi, Ayano Sato and Nana Takagi of Japan celebrate winning gold. REUTERS/Phil Noble

GANGNEUNG, South Korea (Reuters) - Japan dethroned defending champions the Netherlands to claim gold in the women's Olympic team pursuit final on Wednesday as the Dutch took the silver medal.

The Japanese trio of Miho Takagi, Ayano Sato and Nana Takagi set an Olympic record of two minutes and 53.89 seconds, beating the previous record set by the Netherlands during Monday's quarter-final by 1.72 seconds.