U.S. Women’s 4×400 Relay Team Clinches Gold at Paris Olympics
SAINT-DENIS, France — With just about 200 meters remaining in the exhilarating women’s 4×400 meter relay, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas found themselves walking on the track, seemingly drifting toward an inevitable conclusion. Their legs, almost instinctively, conveyed the weight of victory.
“They had to be escorted back, like, ‘pull us back,’” Shamier Little remarked with a chuckle. “We were kind of celebrating. But, you know, anything can happen.”
And almost anything did happen. The baton exchange between McLaughlin-Levrone and Thomas teetered on the brink of chaos as Thomas took the baton, turned to sprint, and nearly stumbled on the inside rail.
This minor mishap was the only source of tension in an otherwise commanding race.
“I did have a little moment of panic with the collision on the rail,” recalled anchor leg Alexis Holmes. “Once I saw Gabby back on the track, I knew we were going to be OK.”
Indeed, Thomas managed to maintain her balance, extending the lead that McLaughlin-Levrone had established, and the U.S. team secured its eighth consecutive gold in the women’s 4×400 relay.
“Of course,” Little added, “we knew that anything wasn’t going to happen.”
The U.S. women’s 4×400 relay team basked in their triumph, celebrating with American flags draped over their shoulders as they took an encore lap around the Stade de France track. Their victory was a fitting conclusion to the athletics segment of the Paris Games, showcasing America’s prowess in track and field.
Relay Performance Highlights
The American quartet completed the race in a remarkable time of 3:15.27, narrowly missing the world record by just a tenth of a second. Little, running the opening leg, clocked in at 49.98 seconds, the only sub-50-second time among the competitors in the first leg, effectively setting the stage for McLaughlin-Levrone.
As expected, McLaughlin-Levrone, regarded as the best in the world, transformed a closely contested race into a dominant display, finishing her lap in an astonishing 47.70 seconds.
To put this into perspective, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic had won gold in the women’s 400-meter final with a stellar Olympic record time of 48.17 seconds. However, with the added responsibility of receiving and passing the baton, McLaughlin-Levrone outpaced her, running just a tenth of a second shy of the world record for her leg of the relay.
Her performance was not only a highlight for the relay team but also the fastest split of the entire race, with the next best being Femke Bol’s impressive 48.62-second anchor leg for the Netherlands.
The U.S. women’s 4×400 relay victory was more than just a race; it was a testament to their hard work, unity, and unparalleled talent on the world stage.
