The U.S. stunned Jamaica in the women’s 4×100 relay Saturday in the World Athletics Championships, winning gold just two years after finishing fourth in the event. After taking gold in 2019, Jamaica finished second this time around, while Germany placed third.
Melissa Jefferson, Abby Steiner, Jenna Prandini and Twanisha Terry led the U.S. to gold at 41.14 seconds. Jamaica – a team that consisted of Kemba Nelson, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson – finished second by a razor-thin margin, as its time of 41.18 was only four centiseconds slower than the Americans. Tatjana Pinto, Alexandra Burghardt, Gina Lückenkemper and Rebekka Haase powered Germany to a time of 42.03.
It was a stunning result for Jamaica, which has been utterly dominant in the other world championships sprint events. The Jamaicans came into the 4×100 relay having won five of the six women’s sprint events.
While the U.S. women enjoyed an unforgettable victory, the American men won’t have any trouble flushing the results of their 4×100 relay. A mishandled baton exchange caused the U.S. men to finish second in their 4×100 relay, and Canada took advantage to win gold.
It’s been an exceptional two-day stretch for the U.S. women in the World Athletics Championships. A day before the 4×100 relay win, Sydney McLaughlin broke her own world record in the 400m hurdles for the fourth time in the last 13 months.
