After a clean exchange from Gardner to Bowie, Bowie put the finishing touches on the gold medal victory, stopping the clock at 41.01, the second fastest time ever run in the world, and the 2nd fastest time in Olympic history.
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Later Thursday, track’s governing body, the IAAF, announced that the team’s appeal would be upheld – and that they would get another shot at qualifying in a timed solo race.
Back in 2004, when an 18-year-old Allyson Felix won her first Olympic medal, she finished second behind Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell in the 200-meter sprint.
The result means that China’s relay team, which owned a slot in the final for more than seven hours, will be left out of the race. “I mean, considering how big our country is I’m not too surprised”, she said with a laugh.
The relay win is her first gold medal in her first Olympic Games.
Felix, with seven Olympic medals, could tie Merlene Ottey’s record of nine in women’s track and field with medals in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. In the pole vault Sandi Morris missed her third attempt at 4.90 meters by the smallest margin, allowing Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece to win with 4.85 on a countback.
The United States came agonizingly close to not even advancing to the 4x100m final.
“I can’t believe what’s happened”.
“Very relieved”, Felix told reporters.
Morris, 24, also cleared 4.85 but took silver because of more failed attempts earlier in the competition.
Gardner, the sprinter from Voorhees who starred at Eastern High School and the University of OR, held her ground and the rest of the US team held up its end of the bargain, too, paving the way for a 41.01 victory over Jamaica (41.36), with Great Britain (41.77) third and Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Canada and Nigeria next over the line.
The Americans are the defending Olympic champions after running a world record 40.82secs to defeat Jamaica in the final in London four years ago. She successfully completed only one vault, at 4.60m, after her husband and coach Rick Suhr reported on Twitter on Friday morning that she had woken up “coughing up blood”.
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Elyria, Ohio native Tianna Bartoletta ran the leadoff leg, collecting her second gold medal of the Games after winning the long jump earlier in the week.
