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Felix hits gold record as US women win relay
RIO DE JANEIRO: Allyson Felix became the first woman athlete with five gold medals as she powered the US sprint relay team to victory just a day after they had been
RIO DE JANEIRO: Allyson Felix became the first woman athlete with five gold medals as she powered the US sprint relay team to victory just a day after they had been brought back from the Olympic dead.
Felix, long jump gold medallist Tianna Bartoletta, English Gardner and Tori Bowie, who won 100m silver and 200m bronze in Rio, combined to clock the second fastest 4x100m relay time ever run, in 41.01 seconds.
Only the gold-medal winning US team at the 2012 London Games has gone faster.
Jamaica finished second in 41.36sec, handing double sprint gold medallist Elaine Thompson a third Olympic medal, with Britain taking bronze in a national record of 41.77.
“It felt like we were really strong tonight. The adversity yesterday made us even more determined and we kept fighting the whole way through,” said Felix after the triumph late Friday in the Rio Olympic stadium.
KENYAN CHERUIYOT WINS 5000M GOLD
Two-time former world champion Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya rained on Ethiopian Almaz Ayana’s bid for an Olympic distance double, kicking with two laps to run to seal gold in the women’s 5000m on Friday.
Cheruiyot, who won silver in the London Games four years ago, timed a new Olympic record of 14min 26.18sec, with teammate Hellen Obiri taking silver in 14:29.77. Ayana, who set an amazing world record to win the 10,000m earlier in the week, had to be happy with bronze.
“Almaz got ahead but then I thought ‘she’s not moving’. I went past her,” said Cheruiyot.
