beijing In one last flurry, the U.S. track and field contingent blunted some of the criticism for its overall performance here by winning both 4×400-meter relays Saturday night.
Sanya Richards dug deep and outkicked Anastasia Kapachinskaya of Russia over the last 40 meters to claim the first relay gold for Team USA. Soon after, the U.S. men set an Olympic record in the relay, giving Team USA 23 medals on the track.
That’s roughly its normal haul at the Olympics. However, the U.S. managed only seven gold medals after collecting 14 at each of the past two world championships and had some spectacular mishaps.
Typical of the U.S. frustration was Lolo Jones finishing seventh after leading the 100-meter hurdles until she hit the penultimate hurdle. World champion Tyson Gay, who was injured at the Olympic Trials, didn’t make it to the 100-meter finals. A possible sweep of the men’s shot put netted only a silver. And both 4×100-meter relay teams dropped the baton.
“It’s like someone missing a free throw at the NBA Finals, or not catching the touchdown at the Super Bowl,” women’s head coach Jeanette Bolden said. “Sometimes things happen. Batons slip. They got it done tonight in the 4×4, and that’s the impression they want to leave with the United States.”
But the disappointments were noteworthy.
The U.S. women were shut out in the 100m, a rarity. Bernard Lagat, the world champion in the 1,500 and 5,000, wasn’t competitive because of an Achilles tendon injury. Deena Kastor, who won a bronze medal in the marathon four years ago, broke a bone in her foot at the 5-kilometer mark this time.
“Just because a lot of us were favored and came up short, at least we still pulled it off and got medals,” Richards said. “This is the Olympic Games, people pull out great performances all the time. I’m really proud of the team and I’m happy we ended on such a high note.”
There were great successes. The men swept the 400 meters and 400-meter hurdles. Just weeks after finishing his collegiate eligibility at Florida State, Walter Dix won medals in the 100 and 200. Bryan Clay won the first decathlon medal for the U.S. since 1996, and it was gold. Shalane Flanagan won the first medal for the U.S. in a track distance event since 1992. Stephanie Brown Trafton won a surprise gold in the discus.
“I’m proud of this bunch,” head men’s coach Bubba Thornton said. “This bunch has worked hard, trained hard and done an incredible job. And to end it with an Olympic record? After everything those guys have been through, that showed you they care about representing America. They wanted to end it with a dose of good old American apple pie.”
