The squad-comprised of Olympic long jump champion Tianna Bartoletta, Olympic 400-meter silver medalist Allyson Felix, English Gardner and Bowie-became the first American team to win back-to-back relay titles since the USA won in 1992 and 1996.
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Felix eventually picked up the baton and passed it to teammate English Gardner as the team finished the heat in last place.
However, they turned it on, running a cool 41.77 to coast into the finals.
At the 2012 Olympics in London, the Americans won the 4×100-meter relay gold medal in an Olympic-record 40.82 seconds.
The two fastest teams today were Jamaica and Great Britain; both turned in times that were under 42 seconds.
“It’s been a wonderful experience, my first Olympic Games”. For Bartoletta, it was the second gold in Rio, after winning the long jump too. Bartoletta will go straight from the rerun to her medals ceremony.
Defending champions, the United States, won the women’s Olympic 4×100 metres relay as Allyson Felix became the first woman to collect five gold medals in athletics.
As is the case with so many relays the USA has run over the years, this was anything but routine. Canada earned bronze, while the United States – who has won every women’s soccer tournament since the 2000 games in Sydney – came up empty.
Bolt, of course, was unmatchable again, as he gained his ninth gold medal over three Olympics by anchoring the Jamaican 4×100 relay home.
The US team were forced into a solo re-run of their qualifier on Thursday, having overturned a disqualification for a dropped baton exchange between Felix and Gardner.
Elaine Thompson almost matched Usain Bolt in Rio.
As it were, the USA was in lane one, a byproduct of making the final on time instead of automatically qualifying.
All the Nigeria’s women 4x100m quartet have to do is push harder and they might just clinch a medal for the country in track and field.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruled in favor of the United States, granting them a time trial Thursday night to try and place for the semifinal.
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“Before we went out our coach said, “It’s just like a practice; it’s just that the whole world is watching”. “So you know, we just tried to finish it out”. The U.S. will have a second opportunity to qualify for the final after launching a successful protest. “Tonight I felt like I was the best that I could be and I was going to give these girls one heck of a third leg”.
