Tokyo Olympics: U.S. men and women rule the roost in 4x400m relay
The American team of Michael Cherry, Michael Norman, Bryce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin took the lead early and surged ahead of their challengers to take victory in a season's best 2:55.70.
Published : Aug 07, 2021 20:07 IST
The United States men's team won their first gold in athletics at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, clinching the 4x400 metres relay by a massive margin.
This was the final chance for the American men to avoid the ignominy of not winning a gold on the track for the first time in the Games' 125-year history - barring their boycott year in 1980 - and they left it to the very last event.
The American team of Michael Cherry, Michael Norman, Bryce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin took the lead early and surged ahead of their challengers to take victory in a season's best 2:55.70.
Netherlands took the silver medal in a national record time of 2:57.18 and Botswana claimed the bronze.
Eleven medals for Felix
The women's team tasted their seventh successive victory in the 4x400m relay. Allyson Felix won gold in the event for the fourth time to extend her Olympic medal haul to a remarkable 11.
Poland continued its impressive relay run in Tokyo, having won the inaugural 4x400 mixed race, with an excellent silver while Jamaica, who had won silver three times in a row, had to settle for bronze.