The US women’s relay of Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, English Gardner and Torie Bowie overcame the disadvantage of lane one to eviscerate the competition in the Women’s 4 x100m relays.
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“It’s special”, Allyson Felix told NBC.
“The adversity yesterday made us even more determined”.
The Americans had almost missed out on a place in the final, after Felix dropped the baton when handing over to Gardner in their heat on Thursday morning.
So it was on to the final for Team USA.
“It really made us focus and buckle down on executing the race”, Bartoletta said.
A Jamaican team containing Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, took silver in 41.36.
It was the first gold of the Rio Games for Bowie and Felix, as well.
Just when it seemed like American pole vaulter Sandi Morris would clinch the gold medal with her final pass, the sliiiightest (and most heartbreaking) of bumps against the pole at the last moment knocked her down to second place, with Greece’s Ekateríni Stefanídi claiming the top prize instead. Like Bolt did in 2008, 2012 and 2016, she won the 100 and 200, but Jamaica couldn’t win the 4×100 in Rio to complete her personal sweep.
Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot won the Olympic women’s 5,000 final on Friday, breaking the Games record to stun pre-race favourite Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia to take gold.
The time was just 19 hundredths of a second slower than the world record set by the U.S. at the London 2012 Games, in which Felix and Bartoletta also participated.
Ayana looked to be on the way to another dominant victory after surging into a huge lead four laps into the race but the Ethiopian exhausted in the closing stages and was unable to hold off Cheruiyot’s late surge. For Gardner, the gold avenges a 100 final in which she placed seventh, after winning the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Ayana had to settle for bronze. The American women won four consecutive gold medals from 1984 to 1996. Canada earned bronze, while the United States – who has won every women’s soccer tournament since the 2000 games in Sydney – came up empty.
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Her sole individual title came in the 200m in the British capital. “I’m glad to make my country proud”. The USA and Jamaica also finished gold-silver in London.
