Olympics: USA wins gold in men's 4x400m relay for a record 18th time

The USA closed out the track athletic events at Tokyo 2020 with a spectacular 18th win in the men’s 4x400m relay at an Olympic Games.

The team raced home 100m ahead of nearest rivals the Netherlands to record a season’s best time of 2:55.70. It was a dream end for the American team at Tokyo 2020.

7 August – #Athletics – Men's 4 x 400m Relay

🥇USA🇺🇸
🥈Netherlands 🇳🇱
🥉Botswana 🇧🇼#UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether | #Olympics | #Tokyo2020

— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 7, 2021

Trinidad and Tobago’s Deon Lendore had set a blistering pace from the start of the race and led for much of the first leg with the USA’s Michael Cherry and Botswana’s Isaac Makwala close behind.

By the handover USA’s Michael Norman took over at the front and the team stayed there for the rest of the race with third leg Bryce Deadmon extending the lead before teammate Rai Benjamin brought them home with a 100m gap between nearest rivals the Netherlands, who took silver and a national record in 2:57.18. They just beat Botswana on the line but they will take home bronze and an area record after finishing in 2:57.88.

“This race is very emotional for us,” said Terrence Agard from the Netherlands on winning silver. “We are a team. We run with our heart and soul, and we left it all on the track. Really, we have an incredible team. I’m so proud of these guys. Every day we train together. I’m speechless. I’ve been through a lot, and you know, to end this Olympic campaign with a silver medal, it’s insane.”

The first seven teams, which also included Belgium, Poland, Jamaica and Italy, all landed in under three minutes. Trinidad and Tobago were in 8th place on 3:00.85.

The men’s 4x400m relay was the final event of the track athletic events at Tokyo 2020 at the Olympic Stadium.