American Tyson Gay, who made his Olympic debut in 2008 as Bolt began his astonishing medal sweep, described the Jamaican’s greatness as “just self-explanatory”.
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After controversy nearly kept the United States women’s 4×100-meter relay team out of Friday’s final, the group instead was able to defend its Olympic title.
In the shadow of mighty Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix achieved something unprecedented in women’s track and field Friday by winning her fifth Olympic gold medal.
The only faint cloud on Bolt’s horizon is the fact that one of his team-mates in the Beijing 2008 4x100m relay win, Nesta Carter, had a banned stimulant discovered when the World Anti-Doping Agency conducted 454 retrospective tests of athletes at those Games, and all four golds now stand to be forfeited under the rules the International Association of Athletics Federation introduced in 2003.
The women’s team was smooth, despite the rocky path to the final.
One team that has won loads of gold in its sport is the US women’s basketball team.
Felix had been bumped in the preliminary heats and lost the baton, but the US team protested and got a second chance – a solo re-run that allowed them to qualify on times.
The drawback was they were given the worst lane of all, Lane 1, which has the tightest corners and usually impedes top speed.
It didn’t bother them.
Brazil’s men will try to pull off the feat Saturday as it takes on Germany in the Olympic final, giving the host nation a chance to not only win gold in its signature sport, but avenge a 7-1 loss to the Germans two years ago in the World Cup. She had been through injury, the inability to defend her 200-meter title because she didn’t qualify at the US trials and, almost, a DQ in the relay heats.
“I’m sharing with the team, so it’s very special”, she said.
Felix entered the Games as one of just six women to have won four golds in track and field.
Numbers-wise, Lewis has the more accomplished Olympic resume – 10 medals overall, the nine golds and one silver in the 200m in Seoul in 1988 – and don’t think Lewis doesn’t know so.
It was not all perfection for the Americans though.
Japan won the silver medal, finishing.33 seconds behind. Japan set an Asian record to take the silver in 37.60, holding off the third-place Americans by 0.02. The U.S. team lodged a protest, hoping to get the medal back.
Serbian volleyball players face a young Chinese squad led by former USA coach Jenny Lang Ping in the women’s finals. They now have 27 medals with two days to go, including 10 gold.
The women’s 20km walk saw China’s world champion Liu Hong move clear of Maria Gonzalez in the final 40 metres to claim the gold medal in 1:28:35, with the Mexican claiming silver in 1:28:37 ahead of Liu’s team-mate Xiuzhi Lu, who clocked 1:28:42.
Britain’s Mo Farah is looking to produce a rare double-double – his fourth career gold – when the men’s 5,000 meters kicks off Saturday. There was an upset as Vivian Cheruiyot powered past slumping favorite Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia and set an Olympic record of 14 minutes, 26.17 seconds.
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For his part, Bolt is “legend”, what he called himself after his three victories four years ago in London. A world record over 100m, a world record over 200m, a world record in the sprint relay.
