Olympic Women’s 4×4 — AR Leads Sub-3:20 Baton Fest
THE DREAM TEAM of Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas and Alexis Holmes came together to win 4×4 gold and destroy a 34-year-old American Record in the final track race of the Games, missing the World Record by a mere 10th with their 3:15.27.
It marked the eighth straight long relay gold for the United States and it was the most impressive yet. The action started in the heats, where a mostly-different foursome ran 3:21.44 in a show of dominance to easily make the final.
That run started with Quanera Hayes in 51.27, followed by Little in an impressive 49.22. Aaliyah Butler hit 50.41 and Kaylyn Brown comfortably closed with a 50.54. That was more than enough to top Great Britain (3:24.72) and France (3:24.73). The second heat saw Jamaica win in 3:24.92 over Netherlands (3:25.03) and Ireland (3:25.05).
Lining up for the final, the announced U.S. order probably had an intimidating effect on the other teams. Little, though she hadn’t made the team in an individual event, had already run three relay legs in Paris, the slowest of them a 49.39. McLaughlin-Levrone had, of course, crushed her own WR in the 400H at 50.37. Thomas, a late substitute for Kendall Ellis, had won the 200 and been on the winning 4×1. And Holmes had run a PR of 49.77 for 6th in the 400 final.
The reigning world champion Netherlands, of course, brought in Femke Bol to anchor. Britain brought in Arkansas star Amber Anning.
Leg 1: Little separated the Americans from all of their pursuers, building a substantial lead with her 49.48, one of the fastest openers in history. Netherlands led the pursuit with Lieke Klaver at 50.25, followed by Ireland and Jamaica.
Leg 2: When SML got the stick, she tore away from the exchange zone and with each step moved farther from the rest. The lead the U.S. enjoyed grew to more than 30m. When she handed off to Thomas, she had run a brilliant 47.71. Behind her, Rhasidat Adeleke (48.92) moved Ireland into 2nd, in the process bumping the baton out of the hands of the Jamaican runner, Andrenette Knight. The Netherlands fell to 3rd, with Cathelijn Peeters running a 50.43.
Leg 3: Thomas stepped on the curb when receiving the baton, almost tripping. She recovered well to cruise a solo 49.30, handing off with a 40m lead. Great Britain moved into 2nd, Nicole Yeargin blasting a 49.88. Ireland held 3rd and the Netherlands 4th, as Lisanne De Witte ran 50.30.
Anchor: Holmes, who had anchored the Budapest mixed relay to gold last year but was involved in the 4×4 DQ at the same meet, launched herself into the last lap looking to put all of that behind her. Given that she was running with no competitors near, she stunned with her 48.68, as the U.S. clocked 3:15.27, finishing just 0.10 away from the World Record that the Soviets set in ’88 and breaking the American Record set in that same Olympic race.
The race for silver was another contest altogether. Bol got the baton in 4th and, realizing she had no hope of catching the Americans (that would have taken 44.39), she set her sights on reeling in the Brits and the Irish. She was able to do so with room to spare. Her 48.62 gave Netherlands silver in 3:19.50.
Anning ran 49.01 to wrap up bronze with a British Record 3:19.72. Ireland’s Sharlene Mawdsley clocked 49.14 for 4th in 3:19.90. It marked the first time that four teams had broken 3:20 in the same race.
Little, who ran leadoff for the first time since her college days, said, “We got the real quarterhorses. We really do. It’s amazing to be part of history and to add on to that and see the [USA] dominance lying before you and fall in line with that.”
Said McLaughlin-Levrone, “This generation of track & field is on a different level. Everything is improving: including us, the technique and how we prepare. I don’t think anything is impossible at this point, and we continue to prove that every time we step on the track.”
WOMEN’S 4×4 RESULTS
FINAL (August 10)
(temperature 79F/26C; humidity 42%)
1. United States 3:15.27 AR (old AR 3:15.51 National Team ’88) (WL) (2W)
(Shamier Little 49.48, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 47.71, Gabby Thomas 49.30, Alexis Holmes 48.78);
2. Netherlands 3:19.50 NR (#6 nation)
(Lieke Klaver 50.25, Cathelijn Peeters 50.43, Lisanne de Witte 50.20, Femke Bol 48.62);
3. Great Britain 3:19.72 NR (#7 nation)
(Victoria Ohuruogu 51.43, Laviai Nielsen 49.40, Nicole Yeargin 49.88, Amber Anning 49.01);
4. Ireland 3:19.90 NR (#8 nation)
(Sophie Becker 50.90, Rhasidat Adeleke 48.92, Phil Healy 50.94, Sharlene Mawdsley 49.14);
5. France 3:21.41 NR
(Sounkamba Sylla 51.84, Shana Grebo 49.75, Amandine Brossier 49.66, Louise Maraval 50.16);
6. Canada 3:22.01
(Zoe Sherar 51.17, Savannah Sutherland 50.06, Kyra Constantine 50.32, Lauren Gale 50.46);
7. Belgium 3:22.40
(Naomi Van Den Broeck 51.57, Imke Vervaet 49.80, Hanne Claes 51.08, Helena Ponette 49.95);
… dnf—Jamaica (Stacey Ann Williams 50.41, Andrenette Knight-dropped baton, Shiann Salmon, Stephenie Ann McPherson).
(best-ever mark-for-place: 4–7)
(lanes: 2. Canada; 3. Belgium; 4. Ireland; 5. Netherlands; 6. USA; 7. Great Britain; 8. Jamaica)
(reaction times: 0.136 Belgium, 0.153 Jamaica, 0.156 Canada, 0.191 Netherlands, 0.196 France, 0.198 USA, 0.200 Great Britain, 0.207 Ireland)
Times & Places At Handoffs
Leg 1: 1. USA 49.48; 2. Netherlands 50.25; 3. Jamaica 50.41; 4. Ireland 50.90; 5. Canada 51.17; 6. Great Britain 51.43; 7. Belgium 51.57; 8. France 51.84
Leg 2: 1. USA 1:37.19; 2. Ireland 1:39.82; 3. Netherlands 1:40.68; 4. Great Britain 1:40.83; 5. Canada 1:41.23; 6. Belgium 1:41.37; 7. France 1:41.59
Leg 3: 1. USA 2:26.49; 2. Great Britain 2:30.71; 3. Ireland 2:30.76; 4. Netherlands 2:30.88; 5. France 2:31.25; 6. Canada 2:31.55; 7. Belgium 2:32.45
HEATS (August 09)
I–1. United States 3:21.44 (Quanera Hayes 51.27, Little 49.22, Aaliyah Butler 50.41, Brown 50.54); 2. Great Britain 3:24.72; 3. France 3:24.73; 4. Belgium 3:24.92; 5. Spain 3:28.29; 6. Norway 3:28.61; 7. Switzerland 3:29.75; 8. Cuba 3:33.99 (Gómez 50.92).
II–1. Jamaica 3:24.92 (Ann McPherson 50.52); 2. Netherlands 3:25.03 (Klaver 50.27 [2], de Witte 50.57); 3. Ireland 3:25.05 (Becker 50.88 [1], Mawdsley 49.74); 4. Canada 3:25.77; 5. Italy 3:26.50 (Trevisan 50.83 [3]); 6. Poland 3:26.69 (Święty-Ersetic 50.41 [2]); 7. Germany 3:26.95; 8. India 3:32.51.
