Men finally get their gold
USA’s 4x400-meter relay looks smooth in posting 4th-fastest time
TOKYO — The United States men’s 4x400 relay team had a comfortable cushion at the start of the final lap at National Stadium on Saturday night, but after a week of hearing that American male sprinters had not won a single gold medal and weren’t living up to their sizable expectations, anchor Rai Benjamin wanted to leave no doubt.
He carefully grabbed the baton from teammate Bryce Deadmon (Texas A&M and Ridge Point High School) and rocketed around the first turn, looking like a man with something to prove.
Benjamin put the competition further in his wake with each stride, and as he crossed the finish line, he raised the baton in the air. A baton had symbolized American failure two days earlier, when a bungled handoff led to the 4x100 team missing the final in an event it was favored to win.
This time, it passed cleanly from Michael Cherry
to Michael Norman, then to Deadmon, and finally to Benjamin, and their undeniable speed took care of the rest. The United States clocked the fourth-fastest time in the event, finishing in 2 minutes 55.70 seconds and ensuring that the American men would bring home at least one track gold.
“This sport is really unforgiving and it’s just amazing to come out here and win a gold medal considering what the banter was back home,” said Benjamin, who ran the fastest split at 43.40. “Especially given our team is young, and a lot of people don’t understand that. They’re just used to seeing USA going out and winning gold, but they don’t understand that we’re in a transition period.”
The United States has long dominated the 4x400, claiming 17 golds and three silvers in the 23 Olympic finals it had appeared in before Saturday. This was the eighth time in the last 10 Games that the United States has won the event.