Photo: Jamaica’s male 4x100m World Championship gold medal winning team
Jamaica won both sprint relays on the penultimate day of the 15th staging of the World Championships in Beijing, China as their hunt for gold medals moved a a frantic pace.
The women were always favorites to take the event but with batons falling and athletes known to run in other lanes, the sprint relays are never as easy as the athletes make it looks.
The quartet of Veronica Campbell-Brown, Natasha Morrison, Elaine Thompson and Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce ran a new championship record and a national record to take the event. The Baton Changing was rather smooth and the girls won easy in a time of 41.07 in front of the United States of America who take the silver in a time of 41.68 and Trinidad and Tobago take the bronze in a time of 42.03.
The men then came and took gold as well, the quartet of Nesta Carter, Asafa Powell, Nickel Ashmeade and
Usain Bolt ran a world leading time of 37.36 in front of China who take the silver in a time of 38.01 and Canada take the bronze in a time of 38.10.
Despite less than perfect baton changes Jamaica was always in the hunt for the gold and while Mike Rogers and Tyson Gay struggled to make the final change over for the USA, Ashmeade handed over to Bolt who streaked away for his country’s second medal of the day and his third of the championships.
The coaches who have been under pressure before and during the Championship must be given credit for their decision to place Asafa Powell on the second leg of the men’s 4×100 meter relay team. Powell who has always anchored for Jamaica, ran a good leg against American Justin Gatlin, which ensured the Americans did not have a comfortable lead.
Usain Bolt to anchor was a very good decision as he was prepared to run down Rogers who was anchoring for the USA team but he ran out of the baton exchange zone and the USA was disqualified under rule 170.7, this after crossing the finish line second.
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