Despite parading the three medalists from the women’s 100m final, Jamaica were stunned by the USA in the 4x100m relay final on Saturday’s ninth and penultimate day of the 18th World Athletics Championships inside Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Jamaica had swept the 100m final on Sunday with five-time 100m gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce finishing on top of Shericka Jackson, with Elaine Thompson-Herah claiming third.
But on Saturday the Jamaicans were sloppy in their baton changes and that allowed the hosts, USA , to claim victory by the narrowest of margins.
The USA won in a world-leading 41.14 seconds ahead of fast finishing Jamaica in 41.18 seconds, a season‘s best, and Germany in third in 42.03 seconds, also a season’s best.
The Jamaicans were led off by Kemba Nelson, who had a botched handover to Thompson-Herah, then to Fraser-Pryce and on to Jackson, who had about a five-meter lead to make up and she almost did.
The silver medal lifted Jamaica to seven medals overall, two gold, four silver and one bronze for fourth place on the medals table being led by the USA on 28, 10 gold, eight silver and 10 bronze.
Ethiopia are in second place with 10 medals, four gold, four silver and two bronze, with Kenya in third place with eight medals, two gold, four silver and two bronze.
In the men’s 4x100m relay final, howling favourites the USA were pipped to the gold by Canada in a world-leading 37.48 seconds. The USA ran 37.55 seconds for a season’s best, with Great Britain finishing in third place in 37.83 seconds, also a season’s best time.
Jamaica could fare no better than fourth in a season’s best 38.06 seconds.
Meanwhile, Grenada’s Anderson Peters successfully defended his men’s javelin title when he blew away the field with a thrown of 90.54m ahead of India’s Olympic Games gold medallist Neeraj Chopra with 88.13m. Third place went to the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch with 88.09m.
Peters was in a different class to his rivals as he registered at least four throws over 90m, having had a world lead of 93.07m in Doha earlier in the year.
Elsewhere, Stacy Ann Williams, Junelle Bromfield, Tiffany James and Cherokee Young blitzed the track in the women’s 4x400m semi-final two to advance to the final on Sunday, the closing day of the championships.
The Jamaicans won in a season’s best 3:24.23 minutes ahead of Belgium and Canada. In the first semi-final, the USA won easily in a season’s best 3:23.38 minutes ahead of Great Britain and France.
Also, Britany Anderson won heat one of the women’s 100m hurdles in 12.59 seconds to advance to Sunday’s semi-finals. She has been joined in the semi-finals by compatriots Danielle Williams, who was second in 12.87 seconds in heat three and Olympic Games bronze medallist Megan Topper, who was also second in heat five in 12.73 seconds.
The World Championships final will be run two hours and 40 minutes after the first semi-final.
The Caribbean will also be represented in the second of three semi-finals by Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas.
