Elite American Squad Secure Gold in the Women's 4x400m
The United States stepped on to the track with a team of extraordinary sprint talent for the last day of track and field at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Finishing with a time of 3:16.85s, the United States became the women’s 400 meter relay champions.
@reuters / Kai Pfaffenbach
The United States line-up was one of Olympic champions, record medal winners, and world record holders, consisting of Sydney McLaughlin, Allyson Felix, Dalilah Muhammad, and Athing Mu. This team was far from what one would expect after the United States Olympic Qualifiers, as none of the women, other than Allyson Felix, ran the flat 400m at the U.S. trials in June 2021.
McLaughlin, the Olympic champion and world record holder in the 400 meter hurdles, ran the first leg of the race. As the gun went off, she exploded out of the blocks bringing the US into a lead from the first lap. She handed off to Felix, the bronze medalist in the 400m at the Tokyo Games. Felix ran a smart leg of the race cutting it in position first at the 500 meter mark. Throughout the run, Felix maintained a gap from against the Polish team. She then handed off to Muhammad, the silver medalist in the 400 meter hurdles at the Tokyo Games.
Dalilah continued to increase the separation of several second between the United States and all other teams. She then handed of to their anchor leg, Athing Mu. Mu is the 19 year old Olympic champion in the 800 meters. And, she has exhibited incredible speed at the 400 meters in her college competition. As sprinted a lap around the track, she widened the gap to a nearly 30 meter lead to take gold.
The United States finished about four seconds ahead of the second place Polish team and five seconds of the third place Jamaican team.
These gold medals add to a growing collection of medals for this talented crew. Mu, at just 19, now has two Olympic gold medals. McLaughlin also concludes her performance in Tokyo with 2 gold medals. Meanwhile, this win makes Muhammad a 3x time Olympic medalist.
The United States’ victory in the 400 meter relay was particularly meaningful for Felix. Her team’s performance in the relay added a gold medal to her previous assemblage of 10 medals, making Felix the most decorated athlete in Olympic track and field history with a total of 11 medals. This breaks a record of 10 Olympic medals previously held by Carl Lewis.
