Gold: United States
Silver: Jamaica
Bronze: Great Britain
After a near-disaster in the opening round, the U.S. successfully defended its Olympic 4x100m gold medal Friday night in Rio.
Running in the inside lane in the final, the U.S. clocked 41.01 seconds, the second fastest time ever. At the 2012 Olympics, the U.S. ran the fastest time ever, 40.82 seconds.
The U.S. team in Rio featured, in order, Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, English Gardner and Tori Bowie.
The United States came agonizingly close to not even advancing to the 4x100m final.
In Thursday morning’s preliminary heat, Felix stumbled as she approached Gardner, and the U.S. women dropped the baton. But replays showed that a Brazilian runner bumped Felix as she entered the exchange zone. The Brazilian team was disqualified, and the U.S. team was granted a solo re-run. The U.S. team took advantage of their second opportunity, clocking 41.77 seconds, the fastest time of the day.
It was the third medal for Bowie at the 2016 Olympics. She had already earned a 100m silver medal and a 200m bronze medal in Rio.
Felix is expected to return to the track Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET for the 4x400m final. She is hoping to win her ninth Olympic medal.