The U.S. women’s 4x100m relay team will race in the final tomorrow night after all.
A botched handover this morning between Allyson Felix and English Gardner appeared to eliminate the U.S. from contention to defend its Olympic gold medal. But the IAAF, the sport’s international federation, ruled that a Brazilian runner “obstructed” Felix before the botched handover, and awarded the U.S. a second opportunity to qualify for the final.
Obstruction was impossible during the re-run Thursday night, since the U.S. was the only team on the track. As long as the U.S. women finished faster than 42.70 seconds, the time of the slowest qualifier, the U.S. would advance to the final.
The U.S. clocked 41.77 seconds, the fastest time of the day.
The women’s 4x100m final is scheduled for Friday at 9:15 p.m. ET.