Olympics-Speed skating-Japan dethrone Dutch to win women's team pursuit

GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Feb 21 (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.

The United States beat Canada to win bronze for their first Olympic speed skating medal since the Vancouver Games in 2010. (Reporting by Simon Jennings, editing by Ed Osmond)