In their original race, the team’s Allyson Felix looked as though she was tripped after a Brazilian runner veered into their lane – causing her to drop the baton. In a historical appeal though, the US was able to secure a retrial and the Brazilian team has been disqualified, USA Today reports. If the USA beats that time, they will advance to the semifinals while China would be ousted.
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The U.S. team consisted of Tianna Bartoletta, Felix, English Gardner and Tori Bowie.
“I knew that exactly what we did in the first round was right, we executed, its just that we had a mishap”.
Germany walked away with its first-ever gold medal in women’s soccer, besting Sweden (who won silver) in a 2-1 match. The women re-ran on the track by themselves, and bumped team China from the final (the Brazilian team was disqualified).
After the U.S. protested, the IAAF disqualified the Brazilian team and granted the USA a time trial to rerun the race by themselves. If an athlete runs out of his or her lane and impedes a member of another team, the referee may allow the affected competitor or team to advance to the next ground or dictate that the race is re-held. They are also grateful for the advocacy of the USATF on their behalf.
Felix had previously won golds in the 200 and the 400 and 400 relays in 2012, and the 400 in 2008, and was narrowly denied in the 400 earlier this week when Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas defeated her with a desperate dive for the line. In one burst Wednesday night, dubbed the “awesome hour” by long jumper Tianna Bartoletta, the US team added six medals in around 60 minutes.
Ayana set off strongly and seemed to take the lead for good after one third of the race. The strategy worked even if they had to take an unusual detour to get there and earn their second chance.
“It was hugely unfair to let the U.S. team re-run on their own”. You work so hard with your teammates, guys you compete against nearly all year long. She is now the only one with five. And they did just that.
Also making the finals were the teams from the Ukraine, which was second in 3:24.54, and Poland, which was third in 3:25.34. It looked for a moment like a nightmare replay of the 2008 Olympics, when the USA team fumbled a handoff and were disqualified in an early heat.
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Bartoletta peeled off to receive the gold medal she won in the long jump the night before.
