RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — United States qualified for the women’s 4x100m final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Thursday, August 18.
The quartet of Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, English Gardner and Morolake Akinosun, was forced to re-run after finishing 8th earlier in the morning.
USA appealed stating their second leg runner, Felix, was impeded by the Brazilian runner. Brazil was later disqualified.
USA entered the re-run with 42.69 as their target to get into the final and they did 41.77.
Gardner, on the re-run, said:
“Honestly, I feel like it was just like a glorified practice. We just had fun out there. We were laughing and joking going in and staying light and that was the whole point.”
“Before we went out our coach said, ‘Its just like a practice; it’s just that the whole world is watching,” said Gardner.
On running by themselves:
“I feel like we ran pretty fast by ourselves. I don’t think anything was missing and we ran the fastest qualifier. We got a good opportunity and we seized it.”
Felix said, “It was different” to run alone.
“It was really weird but when we walked out and people were cheering for us, it uplifted us and encouraged us and we were really grateful. I am probably the last person who would want to be involved in anything like this (a phantom run),” she added.
Felix also said the extra run won’t have any negative impact going into the final.
“This is the 4x100m. If it was the 4x400m it would be a different story.”
USA will enter the final as the fastest qualifier ahead of Jamaica, 41.79 and Great Britain and Northern Ireland 41.93.