The Netherlands, which last won gold in 2014, took the early lead but lost it to a resurging Canada of Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann, who beat Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong and Marijke Groenewoud by nearly a second to defend their gold medal from 2022.
In the final B, Japan dominated the United States and won bronze - Miho Takagi's third bronze medal of the Milan-Cortina Games.
Canada, which partook in the team pursuit with Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann, completed a comeback in the semifinals against the United States, where former world champion Britanny Bowe raced in her second-to-last Olympic event alongside Giorgia Birkeland and Mia Manganello.
The Canadians bridged the gap and ran away with it in the final few laps, eventually finishing over four seconds clear of the Americans.
The second semifinal was thrilling right up to the very end, with the Netherlands and Japan trading the lead several times. The Dutch, led by team pursuit Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong and five-time world champion Joy Beune, stole the lead in the final metres, beating out Japan, led by the illustrious Miho Takagi, by just 0.11 seconds.
