Fri, August 10, 2012
By Sportswriter Paul Giblin
LONDON, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The USA women's 4X100 meter quartet smashed the world record as they won the gold medal in the Olympic Stadium on Friday night.
The US quarter of Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter shattered the previous record of 41.37, which had been set by the German Democratic Republic in 1985, to establish a new time of 40.82, over half a second faster.
It is the second world record to be established on the track in these Olympic Games and comes a day after David Rudisha broke the 800 meter record on Thursday.
Jamaica finished second, while Ukraine won a very creditable Bronze medal.
The race had always been expected to be fast with America fielding a team led out by 100 meters gold medalist, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce and including, Sherone Simpson, Veronica Campbell Brown and Kerron Stewart.
Fraser-Pryce may have been Olympic 100 meter champion, but she was always training Madison, who flew out of the blocks and handed over a lead to Felix. The new 200 meter gold medalist is having a fantastic Games and widened the lead.
"It's an honor to be part of this team," said Felix.
"Who would have thought that we would have had a world record tonight? It's amazing. Our names are going down in history," she said, before adding that the result was the result of spending time together.
"It was a combination of practice and being comfortable with each other. Everyone has been having fantastic years," she added.
After Felix's back straight, Knight held the gap and Jeter tore down the final straight raising the baton in triumph as she crossed the line.
"I knew that these girls were going to run their hearts out. I knew we were running fast. I was already pointing at the clock, saying 'there it is'. There was a cloud hanging over us, with people saying 'they can't do this, they're going to drop the stick' but we did it," said Jeter, who added she had been confident she could finish the job.
"I knew that if we got the stick around then all I had to do was to bring it home," she said
The Jamaican's had to settle for silver, but could take consolation from the fact they had set a new national record of 41.41.
"We ladies are running wonderful times. Everyone talks about Usain Bolt, now we can talk about the ladies. Almost all the runners ran sub 10.9 seconds in the 100m on Saturday. Ladies are showing up. It keeps the fire burning. We leave it on the track," said Fraser-Pryce, while Campbell-Brown was also satisfied with the silver medal display.
"I'm happy we competed as a team and we got the silver medal. We didn't have a time in mind. Our objective was to make sure we had smooth changes. I'm happy with the performance tonight. I'm happy and pleased America broke the world record. We are happy for them. Females are gaining recognition from their male compatriots," she concluded.
