Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas teamed up for America’s 14th gold and 34th overall medal at the track Saturday, wrapping up the Olympic action at the Stade de France with a 4.23-second runaway in the women’s 4×400 relay. The gold medalists in the 400 hurdles and 200 meters took care of legs two and three for the United States, handing a 30-meter lead to Alexis Holmes, who didn’t lose any ground. McLaughlin-Levrone, who owns the world’s fourth-fastest time in the 400 to go with her latest world record in hurdles, ran her leg in 47.71. That was .91 seconds faster than the next fastest woman in the field, Femke Bol, who took the Netherlands to silver.
Quick Read
- McLaughlin-Levrone and Thomas Lead U.S. to Victory: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas spearheaded the U.S. to a dominant win in the women’s 4×400 relay, securing the 14th gold and 34th overall medal for the U.S. at the Paris Olympics.
- U.S. Dominates Women’s 4×400 Relay: The U.S. team finished in 3 minutes, 15.27 seconds, just 0.1 seconds shy of the world record, with a 4.23-second lead over the Netherlands.
- Historic Medal Count for U.S. Track and Field: The 34 medals won by the U.S. track and field team at these Olympics are the most in a non-boycotted Games since the early 20th century, with 14 of them being gold.
- Kenya’s Wanyonyi Wins Men’s 800 in Photo Finish: Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya edged out Canada’s Marco Arop by 0.01 seconds to win the men’s 800 meters in 1:41.19.
- Ingebrigtsen Takes 5,000-Meter Gold: Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the men’s 5,000 meters, adding to his titles from the last two world championships.
- Shelby McEwen Wins Silver in High Jump: American Shelby McEwen earned a surprise silver in the high jump after a tiebreaker with New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr.
The Associated Press has the story:
McLaughlin-Levrone & Thomas lead US to relay win, giving Americans 34th medal at Olympic track
Newslooks- SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) —
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas teamed up for America’s 14th gold and 34th overall medal at the track Saturday, wrapping up the Olympic action at the Stade de France with a 4.23-second runaway in the women’s 4×400 relay. The gold medalists in the 400 hurdles and 200 meters took care of legs two and three for the United States, handing a 30-meter lead to Alexis Holmes, who didn’t lose any ground. McLaughlin-Levrone, who owns the world’s fourth-fastest time in the 400 to go with her latest world record in hurdles, ran her leg in 47.71. That was .91 seconds faster than the next fastest woman in the field, Femke Bol, who took the Netherlands to silver.
The U.S. finished in 3 minutes, 15.27 seconds, only .1 short of the world record set by the Soviet Union in 1988. The 34 track medals were the most for the U.S. at a non-boycotted Games since the early 20th century, when there were more events and fewer countries. The 14 golds are the most in a non-boycotted Olympics since Bob Beamon, Tommie Smith and John Carlos led the U.S. to 15 wins in 1968. No other country had more than Kenya’s four golds at the track. Kenya and Britain tied for second behind the U.S. with 10 total medals apiece
Moments before the women’s race, there was more tension involving the men. Rai Benjamin, the 400 hurdles gold medalist held off 200 champion Letsile Tebogo to give the United States a .1-second win over Botswana — the final thriller in a nine-day meet full of them. The U.S. had earlier equaled its medal total of 32 from the Rio Games when high jumper Shelby McEwen won a surprise silver medal after losing a drawn-out tiebreaker to New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr, who celebrated by diving into the thankfully inactive javelin landing zone.
Wanyonyi of Kenya wins men’s 800 in another race decided by .01 second
In a speedy men’s 800 Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi beat Canada’s Marco Arop by .01 seconds in a photo finish, finishing in 1:41.19, only .28 off the world record. American Bryce Hoppel’s national record of 1:41.67 was only good for fourth.
Ingebrigtsen gets a win, this one in the 5,000
Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the 5,000 meters in a relatively drama-free race after much-hyped 1,500 four nights earlier against Britain’s Josh Kerr turned into a disappointing fourth -place finish. Ingebrigtsen won in 13 minutes, 13.66 seconds to add this title to wins at the last two world championships. Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi finished second and Grant Fisher of the U.S. finished third.
