Paris Olympics: Decoding USA women's 4x400m relay triumphant campaign
What's the story
Team USA triumphed in the women's 4x400m relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The likes of Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabrielle Thomas, Alexis Holmes, Quanera Hayes, Aaliyah Butler, and Kaylyn Brown put up a stellar show to bring glory to their nation. USA came agonizingly close to the world record, having clocked 3:15.27 minutes in the final. Let's decode their stellar campaign.
Proceedings
USA dominated the proceedings
USA advanced to the final by topping Heat 1 with the then season-best timing of 3:21 minutes. No other team in this round could finish even under 3:24 minutes. While Hayes, Little, Butler, and Brown participated in the league round, Little teamed up with McLaughlin-Levrone, Thomas, and Holmes for the final. This quartet performed even better and clocked a USA record (3:15.27).
Final
How USA's final pan out?
Little got USA started with a 49.50 split in the final. She handed over the baton to McLaughlin-Levrone, who recorded a 47.70 split before handing off to Thomas. The latter ran a 49.30 split in the third leg. Notably, the American unit was way ahead when Holmes received the baton for the anchor. She brought the glory home with 48.77.
Records
USA scripted these records
Such was USA's dominance in the final that second-placed Netherlands clocked 3:19.50mins. The winning margin of 4.23 seconds is now an Olympic record. Meanwhile, USA's winning time was just 0.1 seconds slower than the world record. The American unit is now only behind Team Soviet Union, who clocked 3:15.17 seconds in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Tally
Eighth successive gold, ninth overall
Meanwhile, this was USA's eighth successive Olympic gold in the women's 4x400m relay event (ninth overall). USA's tally also includes four silver medals. East Germany (2) and Soviet Union (2) are the only other teams with multiple Olympic gold medals in this discipline. Team USA's tally of 13 Olympic medals in this event is at least nine more than any other team.