“THE LAST 20M I HEARD HER CLOSING AND IT WAS LIKE ... NOOOO!

YOU couldn’t help but feel for Naa Anang.

Australia had produced a brilliant start to the women’s 4x100m relay final and had put itself in a medalwinning position.

Anang was running the final leg for Australia and as she watched Jacinta Beecher motor towards her to execute the final baton change, she knew something special was a possibility.

Running the last leg in any relay can be one of the scariest places on an athletics track, particularly when you have the fastest woman on the planet against you.

Two lanes inside Anang was Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, the four-time Olympic champion who had just completed the sprint double in Birmingham.

After another perfect baton change, Australia was clearly third when Anang scooted away with daylight to the Jamaicans.

While Nigeria and England were battling out the major medals, the green and gold looked certain for bronze with 30m remaining. Then Elaine happened.

“I knew that we were in a good position, in a medal position, and I thought, ‘Legs, you’ve just got to take me as fast as you can’,” Anang said. “I got to like 70m and I thought, ‘I think we’re OK here’. And then at the last 20m I heard her closing and it was like, “Nooooo. Why isn’t the finish line here?’”

It wasn’t until five metres before the line that Thompson-Herah caught Anang, who had raced against her in the 100m semi-finals.

“We were kind of hoping that Elaine, maybe she’s tired after the 100m and the 200m,” Anang said. “She didn’t run the heat and I guess that was to save her for the final.

“It’s a smart choice to make for sure, for their team. But I ran the best I could. It’s been a big championship, this was my fourth race.

“My first season back, almost uninjured, so I’m really proud of what I’ve been able to achieve.”

The Australian team, which also included 200m finalist Ella Connolly and Bree Masters, clocked 43.16sec to finish just .08sec behind the Jamaicans.

In the men’s 4x100m relay, England thrilled the home crowd by winning gold (38.35sec) from Trinidad and Tobago (38.70sec).