PARIS — The last two races of the Paris Games were a gold rush for the U.S., with both the women and men dominating the 4x400-meter relays Saturday.
The women — comprising Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas and Alexis Holmes — closed out the Olympics in a race that was not close.
When McLaughlin-Levrone built up a jet-heeled lead in the second leg, it took some of the crowd a second to realize quite what was happening. From then on, the gold medal was such a formality that many fans were paying more attention to the close battle for second, won by the Netherlands.
A three-time gold medalist after wins in the 200-meter and 4x100-meter relay, Thomas helped widen the gap in the third lap that McLaughlin-Levrone created in the second.
By the end, the American women had an almost four-second lead on the rest of the field, with anchor Holmes crossing the finish line with a new American record of 3:15.27.
Holmes said the energy in the stadium was like no other. Though she had a huge lead going into the last lap, she was tasked with the steely nerved role of delivering the gold as the team’s anchor.
“My adrenaline was definitely pumping, but I knew that I’ve trained for this moment,” Holmes said. “I had faith myself, so I just went out there and gave everything I had.”
The fateful second lap was high drama: Not only did McLaughlin-Levrone take the lead, but podium contender Jamaica also dropped out of the race, leaving the track wide open for eventual silver medalist the Netherlands and bronze medalist Great Britain.
“Nothing is really given, right? So I knew we were gonna have to earn it,” third-leg runner Thomas said. “So my heart was definitely pumping fast, thinking we’re going to have to work hard and take this gold because the other teams are very talented as well.”
The decision to put McLaughlin-Levrone second was a joint call between her and her coaches, she said, and if everyone did her part things would work well, if unconventionally.
“I just knew that if that was the case, I had to do my job,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “I knew Shamier was gonna get me in a good position. I had to open it up. Gabby kept it going, and Alexis brought it home.”
“I think this generation of track and field is just on a different level,” she added. “Everything is improving, including us, including our technique, including how we prepare. So, I don’t think anything’s impossible. And at this point we’re continuing to prove that every time we step on the track.”
Only moments before the relay, the men made history of their own.
In one of the fastest relays in history, the American team of Rai Benjamin, Christopher Bailey, Bryce Deadmon and Vernon Norwood took home the gold, setting a new Olympic record of 2:54.43. In the last lap, it came down to a race between two gold medalists: Benjamin and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.
Benjamin was able to run away from Tebogo down the stretch and home to gold. He became the first American runner to win both hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay.
With the victory, 16-year-old Quincy Wilson — who ran earlier in the week for the U.S. but not in the final — is now the youngest Olympic track-and-field gold medalist ever. He is also the youngest male U.S. Olympic gold medalist in any sport since 1952.
Wilson will be returning to high school in the fall with hardware around his neck.
Alexander Smith reported from Paris and Raquel Coronell Uribe from Washington, D.C.
