The United States won its eighth straight Olympic women’s 4x400m relay on Saturday, securing its 14th track and field gold medal at the Paris Games.
The star-studded American quartet, which included two-time Olympic 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and 200m gold medalist Gabby Thomas, cruised home in 3min 15.27s.
The Netherlands took silver in 3:19.50 and Great Britain took bronze in 3:19.72.
“The U.S. just has so much depth,” McLaughlin-Levrone said after the win. “Every woman from rehearsals to finals went to do her job.
“I’m thankful that we all did it and won the gold medal.
Shamier Little got the Americans off to a flying start before handing off to McLaughlin-Levrone for the second leg.
The Team USA captain produced a scorching leg with a time of 47.71 seconds to give the defending champions a huge lead at the halfway mark.
Thomas then extended the USA’s lead before handing off to Alexis Holmes, who crossed the line just shy of breaking one of the oldest world records in track and field – 3:15.17 set by the former Soviet Union in 1988.
Thomas said the American women were determined to crown the final night of track at the Stade de France with another gold.
“We’ve been watching people win medals all week,” Thomas said. “I was so inspired watching my teammates do what they do. I know how hard it is to win a medal in athletics.
“It’s a very demanding sport, especially at this level. In the battle for silver, Femke Bolová of the Netherlands clocked an impressive final leg of 48.62s to take second place.
