The U.S. women brought it home in 41.02 seconds, and lead-off runner Tianna Bartoletta was already waiting for Bowie for a wild embrace and to celebrate the second-fastest time in history behind the world record that Felix and Co. set to winning gold at London in 2012.
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Usain Bolt insisted it was “mission accomplished” after signing off with a “treble-treble” in his final Olympic race, predicting that his achievements may never be broken.
After completing a clean sweep of sprinting golds for the third successive Olympics, a jubilant Usain Bolt proclaimed: “There you go, I am the greatest”.
Jamaica, which consisted of Bolt, Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade, topped the table with a time of 37.27s, while Japan and Canada came second and third with times of 37.60s and 37.64s respectively.
Bolt will now set off a year-long victory tour that will culminate with the World Championships in London next August.
After his news conference ended in the early hours of Saturday morning Brazil time, the Jamaican sprint superstar – who says the Rio Games are his last – came back onto the track surrounded by volunteers, and started throwing a javelin. “He’s more than the greatest”. “We spoke quickly. But at that moment I didn’t know it was him, because there were many Jamaicans who looked similar”.
When Bolt’s on the track, everyone forgets. Even he couldn’t envision nine gold medals when he first toed the starting line as a 17-year old at the Athens Games.
“A great sprinter”, said Gay who, once upon a time, was Bolt’s biggest challenger.
The relay gold was the final act of an incredible Olympic career that redefined athletics and has left commentators scrambling to find a new superlatives as each milestone came and went. “That’s just self-explanatory. Words can’t describe that type of a guy and what he’s done for the sport”. Even though they were running from lane one, the US women’s 4×100 foursome had a much smoother trip around the track, defending their Olympic title with a time of 41.01 seconds, a full 0.35 seconds ahead of the second-place Jamaican squad. He huddled with his teammates and they prayed.
As Bolt prepares to turn 30 this coming Sunday, he has sworn off athletic competition and has told everyone that these will be his last Olympics.
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As the final running of perhaps the greatest show on earth was taking place on the track, empty seats were once again visible in the stadium. I’ll stay up late tonight, just talking and having fun. “We’re loving the way he is”.
