The United States grasped their second chance to reach the Olympic women’s 4×100 metres final with both hands on Thursday, racing alone around the Rio track in 41.77 seconds to knock China out of the last eight.
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United States women drop baton in 4x100m relay: Allyson Felix failed to pass the baton to teammate English Gardner after coming into contact with a Brazilian runner.
To make the final, scheduled for Friday at 9:15 p.m. ET, the USA must run faster than China’s 42.70, which is the slowest time of the 8 teams that are now in the final.
The defending Olympic champions successfully protested that Allyson Felix was bumped in her handover in the morning race, got another go at qualifying in a re-run in the evening, and secured a place in the medal decider.
The IAAF said the USA team would be allowed to run on their own in the evening session at 8 p.m. and try to qualify on time.
In a last-ditch act to make the baton stick in Gardner’s hand, Felix desperately reached out but as she did so, the baton slipped out of her hand and fatally dropped to the track.
In a statement, officials said the race referee deemed Felix to have been obstructed after reviewing video replays.
“I remember them telling us, if there’s an appeal, you have to make an effort”, Felix said. “I’m just very upset”. While her feet never seemed to cross the line, her fast pumping arms did appear to get in Felix’s way.
Team USA petitioned for a re-run, and the IAFF sided with the Americans and disqualified the Brazilians.
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.
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“We’re going to regroup, get ourselves together and go out there and be able to compete in the final”, Gardner said before she was aware of the extraordinary circumstances of the U.S protest. With Bolt focusing on the 200 final – part 2 of 3 for him in Rio – the Jamaicans qualified for the 4×100 final behind heat-winner Japan.
