(L-R) Natasha Hastings, Phyllis
Francis, Allyson Felix and Courtney Okolo react after winning gold in
the women's 4x400-meter relay on day 15 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at
the Olympic Stadium on Aug. 20, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
Allyson Felix
By Peggy Shinn |
Aug. 20, 2016
RIO DE JANEIRO — The winning streak started 20 years ago, and it’s still going strong.
In the final night of Olympic track and field in Rio, the U.S.
women’s 4x400-meterteam won its sixth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
Allyson Felix anchored the team of Courtney Okolo, Natasha Hastings
and Phyllis Francis to the gold-medal six-peat in 3:19.06. Jamaica
finished second in 3:20.34 for the silver medal — one place better than
they finished in London. And Great Britain brought home bronze in
3:25.88.
Felix and Francena McCorory, who ran in the 4x400 heat for the U.S.
yesterday, also competed on the 2012 Olympic relay team that won gold in
London. Hastings won gold with Felix on the 4x400 team at the 2008
Beijing Games.
“I knew when I got on that home stretch to try to just bring it home
strong,” said Felix. “We have such a rich history in this event, just
wanted to continue the legacy.”
Since the women’s 4x400 made its Olympic debut at the 1972 Games, the
U.S. has had a long history of standing on the podium. They have won
seven gold medals and four silvers — a medal in every Olympic Games
except 1980, when the U.S. team boycotted the Moscow Games.
The current streak began at the 1996 Atlanta Games, when Felix and
Hastings were still in elementary school, or in Francis’ case,
pre-school. Okolo was only 2 years old then.
“I didn’t know about the winning streak before the meet went off,”
said Okolo, who ran the lead-off leg. “I definitely felt a lot of
pressure because I knew these ladies have been here before, and I didn’t
want to mess it up. It was the right amount of pressure to get the job
done. I’m glad we came away with the gold.”
The 4x400 gold was the third Olympic medal for Felix in Rio. She won a
silver in the women’s 400 and gold in the 4x100 relay. It’s her sixth
gold overall and ninth total Olympic medal. And the list of superlatives
is long.
By winning three golds in the 4x400 (2008, 2012, 2016), she equaled
the mark of Evelyn Ashford (USA) and Sanya Richards-Ross (USA), as the
only women to win three Olympic gold medals in the same track and field
event, with Ashford doing so in the 4×100 and Richards-Ross in the
4×400.
With nine total Olympic medals, Felix moved into a tie for the title
of most decorated track and field woman, equaling Jamaican sprinter
Merlene Ottey — although Ottey never won any Olympic gold medals. Felix
is now tied for third among all track and field athletes, trailing only
Finland’s Paavo Nurmi with 12 and Carl Lewis with 10.
Felix’s six gold medals move her into a tie for fifth among all women
in any sport. The Olympic best is held by Soviet gymnast Larissa
Latynina, who has nine.
The American sprinter also moves into a tie for fifth among all
Olympic track and field athletes and all female Olympians, with six gold
medals.
“It’s pretty crazy,” said Felix. “I’m just grateful. [This is] not an
individual medal, I did it with my teammates. It makes it very special
in a very tough year. I’m happy to be able to close it out like this.”
Okolo was in awe of Felix’s accomplishment — and the fact that she had just competed on a relay with the track and field icon.
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