Kristin Armstrong wins third consecutive time trial gold as Emma Pooley finishes distant 14th

The Unites States of America added another gold medal to their Rio 2016 tally after Kristin Armstrong triumphed yet again in a rain-soaked and windy women's individual time trial. The experienced two-time world champion, who turns 43 on Thursday (11 August), was reduced to tears after winning her third consecutive Olympic title by edging out Olga Zabelinskaya with a time of 44:26.42 at the Grumari Circuit.

London 2012 double bronze medalist Zabelinskaya took silver and Dutch road race winner Anna van der Breggen came third.

The former was one of the Russian athletes that initially looked set to miss the Games altogether following the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to expel those who had previously been sanctioned for doping, although she was subsequently reinstated.

In February, the rider retrospectively accepted an 18-month ban, which expired in September 2015, after previously testing positive for the banned stimulant octopamine during the previous March. She was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Russian Cycling Federation and later reached a settlement with the Union Cycliste Internationale to resolve the case "via an acceptance of consequences". The UCI subsequently dropped their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

There was disappointment for Great Britain's Emma Pooley as she crossed the line 90 seconds behind then leader Tara Whitten before most of the strongest riders had even gone out. The Beijing silver medallist, who eventually finished 14th in 46:31.98, originally quit cycling in 2014 to focus on her triathlon and endurance running career before being enticed to come out of retirement last December for the chance to compete for another medal on a suitably hilly Rio course.

"I didn't want to just compete at another Olympics – I wanted to get a result but that's part of sport as well," she said afterwards. "The weather was a bit different to what we expected. I had to ditch my visor halfway round because it got steamed up. Some people are just better at cornering in the wet, I guess."