Current:Home > ScamsTeam USA wins women's 4x400 for eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal -Wealth Evolution Experts
Team USA wins women's 4x400 for eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal
View
Date:2025-04-17 04:42:22
SAINT-DENIS, France — Gabby Thomas is leaving the 2024 Olympics with the best kind of souvenir: gold.
Gold medals, to be specific. Three of them.
Thomas picked up her third in the finale of Olympic track and field Saturday at Stade de France in the women’s 4x400 relay, as the Americans clocked an U.S.-record 3:15.27 to smoke the Netherlands (3:19.50) and Great Britain (3:19.72).
Thomas ran the third leg, taking the baton from Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and handing off to Alexis Holmes for the anchor. Thomas ran a 49.30 split.
Shamier Little, the only athlete from the final who’d also run in prelims, got the U.S. started with a 49.50.
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
McLaughlin-Levrone, who set a world record when she won the 400 hurdles on Thursday, turned in a blistering split at 47.70 to give the Americans a huge lead. Thomas followed with 49.30 split before Holmes brought it home with 48.77.
“It was kind of a joint decision between me and the coaches,” McLaughlin-Levrone said of running the second leg, unusual for someone who usually anchors. “We knew it was gonna look a little unconventional, but we knew if we did our parts it was going to be fun.”
Running with a major gap between first and second is also uncommon, but Holmes said the energy in Stade de France "was indescribable. I’ve never felt anything like it so my adrenaline was definitely pumping."
Thomas, 27, also won told in the women’s 200 meter dash and the women’s 4x100. Paris marks the first time she has won Olympic gold medals; in Tokyo she earned a silver (4x100 relay) and bronze (200).
In the prelims Friday, Quanera Hayes, Little, Aaliyah Butler and Kaylyn Brown turned in the fastest qualifying time (3:21.44). McLaughlin-Levrone, Thomas and Holmes ran in only the final. All seven runners who competed for the U.S. will get medals.
The U.S. women’s have dominated the 4x400 relay, winning eight golds in a row in the event. When Team USA won it in Tokyo it gave the legendary Allyson Felix her 11th Olympic medal, making her the most decorated track and field athlete of all time.
The team was just a tenth off the world record, set in 1988 and considered to be untouchable — until recently, that is. The Americans' time implies that sooner rather than later, that record will fall.
"I think this generation of track and field is just on a different level," McLaughlin-Levrone said. "Everything is improving including us, including our technique, including how we prepare.
"I don’t think anything is impossible at this point, and I think we’re continuing to prove that every time we step on the track."
The win capped a superior performance for the U.S. on the track, and added to the overall vibe of U.S. women owning the 2024 Olympic Games.
"I’ve been here for awhile and I’ve been watching all the women across the Games dominate and it’s been really inspiring and really motivating," Thomas said. "Just watching swimming and gymnastics, I was itching to get out here on the track and show the world what we could do. I'm in great company."
Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell
veryGood! (62)
Related
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- 3 Milwaukee police officers and a suspect are wounded in a shootout
- First court appearance set for Georgia teen accused of killing 4 at his high school
- Anna Delvey on 'DWTS' leaves fans, Whoopi Goldberg outraged by the convicted scam artist
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- The ‘Man in Black’ heads to Washington: Arkansas’ Johnny Cash statue is on its way to the US Capitol
- Police deny Venezuela gang has taken over rundown apartment complex in Denver suburb
- More extreme heat plus more people equals danger in these California cities
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- 'Bachelorette' Jenn Tran addresses finale debacle: 'My heart is heavy grieving'
Ranking
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Behati Prinsloo's Sweet Photos of Her and Adam Levine's Kids Bring Back Memories
- Video shows flood waters gush into Smithtown Library, damage priceless artifacts: Watch
- How many points did Caitlin Clark score Wednesday? Clark earns second career triple-double
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- George Kittle, Trent Williams explain how 49ers are galvanized by Ricky Pearsall shooting
- Surfer Caroline Marks took off six months from pro tour. Now she's better than ever.
- A 13-foot (and growing) python was seized from a New York home and sent to a zoo
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
A 13-foot (and growing) python was seized from a New York home and sent to a zoo
Maine law thwarts impact of school choice decision, lawsuit says
Defensive coordinator Richard Aspinwall among 4 killed in Georgia high school shooting
Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
Donald Trump returns to North Carolina to speak at Fraternal Order of Police meeting
Chelsea Lazkani's Husband Jeff Was Allegedly Caught Making Out With Another Woman Before Divorce
Orano USA to build a multibillion-dollar uranium enrichment facility in eastern Tennessee