Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay

Women's 4 × 100 metres relay
at the Games of the XXX Olympiad
VenueOlympic Stadium
Date9 August 2012 (2012-08-09) (heats)
10 August 2012 (2012-08-10) (final)
Teams16
Winning time40.82 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s)  United States (USA)
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Jamaica (JAM)
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Ukraine (UKR)
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Athletics at the
2012 Summer Olympics
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The women's 4 × 100 metres relay competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place on 9–10 August at the Olympic Stadium.[1] The victorious United States team broke the world record by over half a second. The previous record had been set 27 years previously by East Germany.[2] The Jamaican team, 6 metres back, missed the previous world record by 0.04, but set a new national record. Another 7 metres back, Ukraine took the bronze, also setting a new national record.[3]

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World record  East Germany
(Silke Gladisch, Sabine Rieger, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr) 		41.37 Canberra, Australia 6 October 1985
Olympic record  East Germany
(Romy Müller, Bärbel Wöckel, Ingrid Auerswald, Marlies Göhr) 		41.60 Moscow, Soviet Union 1 August 1980
2012 World leading  United States
(Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter)[4] 		42.19 Philadelphia, United States 28 April 2012

The following records were established during the competition:

Date Event Name Nationality Time Record
10 August 2012 Final Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter  United States 40.82[3] WR
10 August 2012 Final Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Kerron Stewart  Jamaica 41.41[3] NR
10 August 2012 Final Olesya Povh, Hrystyna Stuy, Mariya Ryemyen, Elyzaveta Bryzgina  Ukraine 42.04[3] NR
9 August 2012 Round 1 Michelle-Lee Ahye, Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Kai Selvon, Semoy Hackett  Trinidad and Tobago 42.31 NR
9 August 2012 Round 1 Kadene Vassell, Dafne Schippers, Eva Lubbers, Jamile Samuel  Netherlands 42.45 NR
9 August 2012 Round 1 Ana Claudia Silva, Franciela Krasucki, Evelyn dos Santos, Rosângela Santos  Brazil 42.55 AR

Results

Round 1

Qual. rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.

Heat 1

Rank Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes
1 2  United States Tianna Madison, Jeneba Tarmoh, Bianca Knight, Lauryn Williams 41.64 Q, SB
2 4  Trinidad and Tobago Michelle-Lee Ahye, Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Kai Selvon, Semoy Hackett 42.31 Q, NR
3 8  Netherlands Kadene Vassell, Dafne Schippers, Eva Lubbers, Jamile Samuel 42.45 Q, NR
4 7  Brazil Ana Claudia Silva, Franciela Krasucki, Evelyn dos Santos, Rosângela Santos 42.55 q, AR
5 3  Nigeria Christy Udoh, Gloria Asumnu, Oludamola Osayomi, Blessing Okagbare 42.74 q, SB
6 9  Bahamas Sheniqua Ferguson, Chandra Sturrup, Christine Amertil, Anthonique Strachan 43.07 SB
7 6  Switzerland Michelle Cueni, Mujinga Kambundji, Ellen Sprunger, Léa Sprunger 43.54 PB
8 5  Japan Anna Doi, Kana Ichikawa, Chisato Fukushima, Yumeka Sano 44.25

Heat 2

Rank Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes
1 4  Ukraine Olesya Povh, Hrystyna Stuy, Mariya Ryemyen, Elyzaveta Bryzgina 42.36 Q, SB
2 6  Jamaica Samantha Henry-Robinson, Sherone Simpson, Schillonie Calvert, Kerron Stewart 42.37 Q, SB
3 9  Germany Leena Günther, Anne Cibis, Tatjana Pinto, Verena Sailer 42.69 Q
4 2  Poland Marika Popowicz, Daria Korczynska, Marta Jeschke, Ewelina Ptak 43.07
5 5  Colombia Yomara Hinestroza, Norma González, Darlenis Obregón, Eliecith Palacios 43.21 SB
6 7  Russia Olga Belkina, Natalia Rusakova, Elizabeta Savlinis, Aleksandra Fedoriva 43.24 SB
7 3  Belarus Alina Talay, Katsiaryna Hanchar, Elena Danilyuk-Nevmerzhytskaya, Yuliya Balykina 43.90
— 8  France Myriam Soumaré, Ayodelé Ikuesan, Lina Jacques-Sébastien, Johanna Danois DQ R 163.3a
  • France originally finished in seventh place with a time of 43.77, but were disqualified due to a lane infringement.

Final

The American team had an often repeated history of relay failures, so most of the pre-race discussion focused on whether it could successfully get the baton around the track. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, both the men's and women's 4 × 100 metres teams had dropped the baton, leading one reporter to call it the "nadir in US relay history".[5]

On the first leg of the final, Tianna Madison was able to hold her own against the double 100-metre gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Allyson Felix put the USA into the lead, extended by Bianca Knight around the turn. At the final handoff to individual 100-metre silver medalist Carmelita Jeter, the team enjoyed a 3-metre lead. Secure in the handoffs, Jeter sped to the finish, noticing the time and pointing at the clock before the finish line.[6][7]

Rank Lane Nation Competitors Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) 7  United States Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter 40.82[3] WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6  Jamaica Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Kerron Stewart 41.41[3] NR
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5  Ukraine Olesya Povh, Hrystyna Stuy, Mariya Ryemyen, Elyzaveta Bryzgina 42.04[3] NR
4 2  Nigeria Oludamola Osayomi, Gloria Asumnu, Endurance Abinuwa, Blessing Okagbare 42.64[3] SB
5 8  Germany Leena Günther, Anne Cibis, Tatjana Pinto, Verena Sailer 42.67[3]
6 9  Netherlands Kadene Vassell, Dafne Schippers, Eva Lubbers, Jamile Samuel 42.70[3]
7 3  Brazil Ana Claudia Silva, Franciela Krasucki, Evelyn dos Santos, Rosângela Santos 42.91[3]
— 4  Trinidad and Tobago Michelle-Lee Ahye, Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Kai Selvon, Semoy Hackett — DNF[3]
  • Trinidad and Tobago failed to finish as Michelle-Lee Ahye could not pass the baton to Kelly-Ann Baptiste in time.

References

  1. ^ "Athletics - News, Athletes, Highlights & More". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  2. ^ Turnbull, Simon (11 August 2012). "Jeter brings it home to smash 27-year-old world record". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "International Association of Athletics Federations". iaaf.org. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  4. ^ "The Penn Relays - April 26-28, 2012". Pennrelaysonline.com. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  5. ^ Shira Springer (12 August 2012). "Gripping tale for US sprinters". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Highlights: U.S. Women Set 4x100m World Record, Win Gold - Track & Field Video". NBC Olympics. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Expert Analysis: U.S. Women Set 4x100m WR; Men on Tap - Track & Field Video". NBC Olympics. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.