It was billed as a showdown between the United States and Jamaica, and it did not disappoint, but in the end, having Usain Bolt run your anchor leg turns out to be a pretty neat advantage.
VIDEO: Usain Bolt Leads Jamaica To 4x100m Relay World Record
The tussle on the track lived up to its hype as Jamaica edged Team USA for the gold medal in the men’s 4x100m relay final, setting a new world record in the process.
Jamaica won gold in the men’s 4x100m Saturday night at the Summer Olympics in 36.84 seconds, smashing their own world record that they set at the 2011 World Championships by 0.20 seconds. It’s the second-straight Olympic win for the Jamaicans int he event, and for Bolt, it’s his second consecutive Games with three gold medals.
Team USA, anchored by Ryan Bailey, ran a 37.04, which actually tied the old world record, but was only good enough for second place on Saturday. Trinidad and Tobago won the bronze medal, finishing in 38.12.
The United States was even with Jamaica for much of the race, but Bolt simply proved too much to overcome, as is often the case.
The race may have featured the largest collection of world’s fastest men ever seen -- there have been just seven men to break the 9.80-second mark in the 100m dash, and five of them were on wearing either Team USA or Jamaica uniforms on the Olympic Stadium track Saturday night.
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