Triple World Record (WR) holder Usain Bolt had the last laugh in Beijing as he anchored the Jamaican 4x100m men’s relay team to GOLD in a World Lead (WL) of 37.36s, bringing his 2015 World Championships outing to a grand end.
This makes it the fifth time the 29-year old is securing the treble in a major championship. He accomplished this feat for the first time at the Bird Nest’s Stadium some seven years ago during the Beijing Olympics, and then extended his impeccable performance to Berlin 2009, London 2012 and Moscow 2013.
The Jamaican quartet of Nesta Carter, Nickel Ashmeade, Asafa Powell and Bolt forged a solid partnership that gave them an edge over fierce rivals, USA, who lost one more opportunity to get ahead of their Caribbean counterparts, despite having a world class team comprising of Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, Trayvon Bromell and Michael Rodgers.
Team USA tried to replicate their victorious outing over Jamaica at the 2015 IAAF World Relays, where Gatlin and Gay took the second and third legs respectively, while Ryan Bailey anchored the race, finishing ahead of Bolt. However, the whole arrangement didn’t pan out as smoothly as it did in the Bahamas, and once again, a poor baton exchange became the nemesis of the American team.
Bronze medallist Bromell gave the team a solid start, which was consolidated on by Gatlin, before handing over to Gay. In a bid to get a head start on Bolt, Rodgers made a premature start while awaiting the baton from Gay, moving away from the exchange zone and making it more difficult for his team mate to hand over the baton.
By the time the exchange was done, Rodgers was already past the exchange zone, and was now faced with the herculean task of trying to catch up with Bolt who was already long gone. The Americans still finished 2nd while China clocked 38.01s to finish a surprise 3rd after a scorching anchor leg by National Record (NR) holder, Su Bigtian. Canada followed in 4th place with a time of 38.13s.
However, the US team was eventually disqualified for a changeover infringement. Rodgers will definitely return home a sad man, knowing that he cost the team a probable first place, and even worse, a medal at the end of the day. Meanwhile, the Silver and Bronze medals were awarded to China and Canada respectively.
What a great achievement for the host country, which is gradually venturing into the sprints. Germany finished in 4th place with a Season’s Best (SB) of 38.15s, as France and Antigua and Barbuda placed 5th and 6th respectively with 38.23s and 38.61s. Great Britain’s team comprising of Richard Kilty, Daniel Talbot, James Ellington and Chijindu Ujah, did not finish the race, after suffering a botched baton exchange as well.
With the 2015 IAAF World Championships done and dusted for the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt will leave Beijing a fulfilled man, having stamped his authority as the world’s best sprinter. He will now set his sights on retaining the treble at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, which is expected to be his last.
It also goes without saying that Jamaica is set to continue its dominance in the sprints after winning the men and women’s 100m titles, the men’s 200m GOLD, women’s 200m Silver and Bronze, and securing victories in the men and women’s 4x100m relays. In contrast, Team USA’s men’s team hasn’t won an Olympic or World Championships 4x100m relay since the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.
