Tianna Bartoletta kneeled into the blocks and waited for the starter’s pistol.
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The Americans may go on to repeat as Olympic champions and look back on the tricky second semifinal sprint around the track, but it’s what happened at the botched handoff early Thursday morning that allowed the second chance to exist. “There was some pressure to make it to the finals”.
China had qualified eighth for the final but were bumped after the USA re-run, sparking fury among their team and its fans.
“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.
What started off as an unhappy accident turned out to be a happy ending for the USA women’s team – composed of Allyson Felix, Tianna Bartoletta, Morolake Akinosun and English Gardner – as they found themselves getting another crack at the gold medal. However, a successful protest landed them a second chance. The result means that China’s relay team, which owned a slot in the final for more than seven hours, won’t get to race in it.
The medal marks Felix’s eighth Olympic career medal, the most by any American in track and field. The Americans knocked out China, whose time of 42.70 was the last qualifier.
English Gardner and her 4×100 teammates had an interesting journey to the gold medal in the relay race. The others were off for rest and another quick turnaround.
The re-run was a success with the United States surging ahead of China, which occupied the final qualifying position with a time of 42.70 seconds. “The adversity yesterday made us even more determined and we kept fighting the whole way through”, said Felix after the triumph late Friday in the Rio Olympic stadium. “My body’s fine, my mind will be fine”.
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“First thing I did is told the young guys, ‘We got this, ‘” veteran Tyson Gay said after running the men’s third leg. The U.S. team took advantage of their second opportunity, clocking 41.77 seconds, the fastest time of the day. “We have had relay practices since January to get it right”. The United States, had to re-run their heat, alone, in order to book their place in the final.
