His performances here, in his final Olympics, made it clear Bolt was primed for victory – unlike in last year’s world championships, which he won anyway. The United States came third in 37.62 but was disqualified. The tally could have been higher, too, had the US men’s 4×100 team not been disqualified after finishing third in the subsequent final.
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Mossely recovered from a poor start in the women’s lightweight final on Friday to edge out China’s Yin Junhua on a tight decision. Running the second leg in the relay, Felix kept the US up there with the mighty Jamaicans, before English Gardner and Tori Bowie brought the baton, tightly clenched in their hands, home for gold. – Gold medal victor in the women’s modern pentathlon, Chloe Esposito, speaking about her brother Max, who is also in Rio competing in the men’s competition.
It didn’t bother them.
Canada were elevated to bronze after their run of 37.64, a national record which gave Andre de Grasse his third medal of the Games after his bronze in the 100m and silver in the 200m.
“Adversity sometimes makes you stronger”, she said. “We’ve each had a rocky road to get here and we came together to win the gold”.
Bolt’s heroics come in an Olympics which had already witnessed swimmer Michael Phelps bringing a successful close to his record-breaking Games career.
Bolt sprinted from his rivals on the final leg to take Jamaicans to the line in 37.27 and secure his ninth Olympic gold medal.
It was not all perfection for the Americans though.
In the women’s 5,000 meters, Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia, who won gold in the 10,000 meters in world record time, fell short in her attempt for double gold.
Bolt has won an Olympic sweep of 100m, 200m and 4x100m for the third straight time.
– The U.S. men’s volleyball team is now relegated to the bronze medal match following a five-set loss to Italy in the semifinals.
– Sandy Morris of the USA picked up silver in the women’s pole vault, ending up just behind Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece.
Sunday’s gold medal bout will be a rematch between Shields and the Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn, whom Shields defeated in the spring to win her second world title.
It is also be six medals for the track and field team, an improvement on one at London 2012; Derek Drouin’s high jump bronze.
The U.S. team has been on such a run, that Bowie takes it in stride. “All of them mean the world to me – it’s nine”. I told the guys if it didn’t happen tonight I would beat them up.
Kenya took gold and silver in the women’s 5,000 meters, keeping up the country’s powerful showing in the distance races.
The disqualification perpetuates a string that, at the Olympics and world meets, has seen American 4x100m men’s relay teams DQ’d or put up DNF’s – did not finish – since 2008 in Beijing, with just two exceptions: the 2015 World Relays (gold) and 2013 world championships (silver).
For his part, Bolt is “legend”, what he called himself after his three victories four years ago in London. Not so fast. Ayana faded and Kenyan teammates Vivian Cheruiyot and Hilla Onsando Obiri passed her.
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The team was also disqualified at the 2015 Pan American Games, wiping out a gold medal. It is a feat he has accomplished at each of the last two Olympics, for a career total of nine gold medals, and the illustrious ‘triple-triple’.
