This competition exists out of three knock-out rounds. The time in the quarterfinals determines the placement in the (semi-)finals, after which head-to-head races are held. All teams start with three riders, and the time of the last speed skater counts towards the placement. The winners of the semifinals advance to the final, while the losers advance to the B final. The winner of the final wins Olympic gold.
Preview[]
Eight teams qualified for the event with Canada as the favorite for the title, after winning all races in the World Cup so far. Japan and the reigning world champions from the Netherlands finished on the podium in two out of three races, with ROC having won the bronze medal at the most recent world championships and China only getting stronger throughout the season. Norway, Poland, and Belarus completed the field.
Ragne Wiklund was the youngest competitor in the field as part of a Norwegian team that only consisted of Olympic debutantes. Karolina Bosiek was the only other athlete born after 1 January 2000, with Adake Ahenaer, Ekaterina Sloeva, and Marijke Groenewoud less than a year older. Groenewoud's team mate Ireen Wust was the oldest athlete in the women's team pursuit, followed by Natalia Czerwonka and Marit Fjellanger Boehm, with the three with various degrees of Olympic experience. Wust made her Olympic debut in 2006, having competed in five editions of the Olympic Games, one more than Czerwonka and Valerie Maltais, followed by four competitors with three. Nine athletes made their Olympic debuts in Beijing in 2022.
Canada won the women's team pursuit for the first time ever, after winning silver in the event's introduction in 2006. Isabelle Weidemann completed her medal collection after bronze in the 3000 metres and silver in the 5000 metres, Ivanie Blondon took her first medal in her third Olympic appearance, and Valerie Maltais became part of a select group of athletes to have won medals in two different sports after winning silver in the short track relay in 2014. Defending champions Japan took silver with the same team that won gold in 2018, with Ayano Sato winning her second Olympic medal, Nana Takagi winning her third medal, and younger sister Miho Takagi winning her sixth. The Netherlands took bronze after winning gold in 2014 and silver in 2018, with Ireen Wust establishing her position as most decorated speed skater at the Olympic Games with her thirteenth medal, while Antoinette de Jong and Irene Schouten won their fourth medal, and Marijke Groenewoud won her first. 2018 bronze medalists representing ROC finishing just behind the podium, while home nation China comfortably raced to fifth place.
Canada
ROC
China
Norway
Poland
Belarus
