Sarah Ulmer of New Zealand wins women's individual pursuit gold

Sarah Ulmer of New Zealand won women's 3,000m individual pursuit with a new world record of 3 minutes 24.537 seconds on Sunday, beating Australian strong rival Katie Mactier, who clocked 3:27.650 at Athens Olympics.

In the bronze medal race, Dutch rider Leotien Zijlaard-van Moorsel finished in 3:27.037, against 3:31.715 obtained by Australian Katherine Bates.

"The track is fast. During the race I never watch the time. I didn't know if I would break the record but I knew that I was trying hard and that it was a very fast race," said Ulmer, who was fourth in the event at Sydney Olympics.

"I cannot describe my feelings. My dream comes true. I worked really hard for this competition and the results were my reward," she said.

"I feel really happy because as well as participating I am also one of the medallists," said Mactier, runner-up at World Championships in 2003 and 2004.

Mactier said her coach and her family did a lot for her winning a silver, so she was happy to dedicate the medal to them which were there with her.

Zijlaard-van Moorsel said she was very satisfied with the bronze medal.

"I was in great form and improved one-and-a-half second on yesterday's race," said the legend-created woman at Sydney Olympics, where the 34-year-old Dutch rider won three gold medals and set one Olympic record.

She also expressed her willingness of retiring from the sports after the Olympic Games.

"This was my last race. I gave it all. This was it, it's over. I will rewind all my videotapes to look back at a beautiful career of which I am very proud," she said.