So the Chinese are out of the final (as were the Brazilians, who were disqualified for obstruction on the bump that jostled Felix in the semifinal-which is why there were a decent amount of boos from the home crowd for the Americans on their re-run). “If we run the time that we know we can run we’ll be perfectly fine”.
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After the baton dropped, Felix urged Gardner to pick it up, run her leg and continue the relay by handing the baton off to Marolake Akinosun, who finished the race in dead last.
“I just felt contact and it tripped me up”, Felix explained to reporters.
China’s Ge Manqi (2nd L) and Wei Yongli (1st L) hand over baton during the women’s 4X100m relay heat at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 18, 2016. In order to earn a spot in the finals, they will have to beat China’s time of 42.7 seconds which came in eighth place during the qualifier.
“I think I got propelled at about 20 miles an hour”, Felix said.
That didn’t work, and though another full-on American nightmare in the Olympic relays was forestalled, the 4×100 certainly has turned surreal.
To make that determination, track officials reviewed footage of the preliminary race in which the Americans ran in lane 2, next to Brazil’s team in lane 3. And given how much trouble both teams gave the U.S.in pool play, the chance to get another shot at the Americans (should the US advance) will only be additional motivation for both. Bartoletta will go straight from the rerun to her medals ceremony.
The U.S. team took advantage of their second opportunity, clocking 41.77 seconds, the fastest time of the day.
Even after the drop, the United States is considered a favorite in the event, along with Jamaica. At last year’s world championships, a minor bobble in the less-technical 4×400 cost a precious split second that made the difference in a loss to Jamaica.
“First thing I did is told the young guys, ‘We got this, ‘” veteran Tyson Gay said after running the men’s third leg.
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Boniface Mucheru Tumuti of Kenya took silver, 0.05 behind, and Cuban-born Yasmani Copello of Turkey, the European champion, won bronze in 47.92.
