A Japanese journalist asked American hurdlers Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin how they were going to celebrate their historic sweep of the Olympic Games 100-meter hurdles medals, the one and only 1-2-3 of the Rio Games so far.
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Ms Castlin, 28, leaned in at the finish to best Great Britain’s Cindy Ofili, finishing just.02 seconds ahead of her at 12.61 for the bronze.
Winners of 21 in a row, including its five games in Rio de Janeiro by a combined score of 61-27, the US has met every challenge as the favorite to become the first country to win consecutive gold medals since the event was added to the Olympics in 2000.
Rollins, who turns 25 on Thursday, is the 2013 world champion and former American recordholder. Two-time defending Olympic champion Brazil is out, falling to China in five sets on Tuesday.
Castlin crossed the line just 0.02 seconds behind American team mate Nia Ali, whose own father shot his mistress dead before turning the gun on himself in 2009. “My thing was not so much a bronze for myself but for the team”. “Track and field, a lot of times people come into it as individuals and we had a different perspective”. Women hurdlers are so strong in the USA and we have overcome controversy. It was the first USA women sweep of any event in Olympic Games history.
At age 12, Castlin also lost her father when he was shot to death at the hotel where he worked during a botched robbery attempt.
Rollins is the third US gold medalist in the event in the last four Olympics following Joanna Hayes in 2004 and Dawn Harper in 2008.
“We are gonna have a great time, probably go out”, she said. “Do your part, ‘” Ali said.
Farah, who won both the 5,000 and the 10,000 at the London Olympics in 2012, has already successfully defended his title at the longer distance despite being tripped and falling to the track during the final. “I have one more job to do for my country”.
“For me, it has been an honor to be able to come out here”, Gatlin said.
It started Wednesday afternoon when Evan Jager took silver in the steeplechase and became the first American man in 32 years to win a medal in the event. The IAAF was forced to drop rules that limited testosterone levels in female athletes past year after they were challenged by another runner at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. “You can tell from the 100 meters he’s getting old”.
Bolt said that fast semifinal or not, he thinks he can break his world record of 19.19 seconds.
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Luis Scola scored 15 points and Manu Ginobili had 14 for Argentina in what’s expected to the final time the remaining core members of its Golden Generation play together.
