[ad_1]
As the Tokyo Olympics drew to a close, Allyson Felix saw an opportunity to achieve greatness for the United States track team. In her fifth and final Olympics, that’s exactly what she did.
On Friday, Felix finished in 49.46 to win bronze in the 400-meter final. In total, this is Felix’s 10th Olympic medal. She won six gold, three silver and now one bronze. These 10 medals link her to the great Carl Lewis as the most decorated Olympic track athlete in US history. Felix has a chance to pass Lewis by the end of these Games as she is “expected” to make the women’s 4×400 relay final on Saturday.
“This one is very special,” Felix said on the NBC show after his winning run. “This medal means so much.”
Elsewhere in the women’s 400-meter final, Bahamas Shaunae Miller-Uibo broke a regional record of 48.36 to win gold while Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino won silver with a national record of 49.20.
Felix is also now the most decorated female track athlete in Olympic history. Her tenth medal gives her one more than Jamaican Merlene Ottey.
Felix was not the only American to have won equipment on the track on Friday morning.
The United States finished behind a blazing Jamaica in the women’s 4×100 final to win silver. The Americans – represented by Teahna Daniels, Gabby Thomas, Javianne Oliver and Jenna Prandini – set a season record of 41.45 against Jamaica’s national record of 41.02. Great Britain took bronze with a 41.88. The women’s 4×100 final gave Thomas her second medal of the 2021 Games, as she also won bronze in the women’s 200-meter final. Not bad for a Harvard-trained neuroscientist
American Paul Chelimo (12: 59.05) won bronze in the men’s 1,500-meter final, his second consecutive medal in the event. Before Chelimo won silver at the Rio Games in 2016, the United States had not won a medal in the men’s 1,500 meters since 1964. Chelimo dove past Kenyan Nicholas Kipkor Kimeli in the final meters to claim his medal .
In the women’s 1,500-meter final, the United States did not win a medal. Kenyan Faith Kipyegon won gold with an Olympic record of 3: 53.11 while Briton Laura Muir won silver with a national record of 3:54:50. Dutchman Sifan Hassan won bronze with a time of 3:55:86. Americans Elinor Purrier St. Pierre (4: 01.75) and Cory Ann McGee (4: 05.50) finished 10th and 12th respectively.
Italy won the men’s 4×100 relay in as close a race as they could get. The Italians finished with a national record of 37.50, just a hundredth of a second above Britain’s 37.51. Canada won bronze with a 37.70. The USA team, which entered those Games as the favorites in this event, failed to advance to the final after what former Olympian Lewis described as a “clown show” a qualifying performance.
[ad_2]
Source link