Of all the near misses that Britain’s women’s sprint team have endured at these Paris Olympics, this one will also hurt the most. A frustrating final changeover in the 4x100 metre relay cost Britain gold by eight hundreds of a second as the quartet of Dina Asher-Smith, Imani Lanisquot, Amy Hunt and Daryll Neita had to settle for silver. In drizzly conditions inside the Stade de France, Britain had looked on the money after Asher-Smith burst out of the blocks and completed an immaculate changeover with Lansiquot, who ran the quickest split of the field in 10.
13 seconds and installed Britain as serious gold-medal contenders. But after that, their race plan unravelled by the tiniest of margins. Clean changeovers are the holy grail in this team event but a prolonged final change of the baton between bend runner Amy Hunt and Daryll Neita ate into valuable milliseconds, as Britain clocked 41.
85secs, with Germany third in 41.97. It was an exchange that, even in real time, seemed to take an eternity, and one that was all the more unfortunate given that the duo are training partners in Italy and aren’t short of practice time as a team.
Still, their spirits would not be dampened, and rightly so. This was still a significant upgrade from the bronze that this team has claimed in each of the last two Olympics and was a sweet reward for Asher-Smith and Neita in particular, who had both missed out on individual titles by mere hundredths of a second earlier in the week. “We are all so proud and so happy,” said Asher-Smith, who was ecstatic at leaving the French capital with some silverware.
“We have worked so hard for this. So to be able to be in a position not just to challenge for a medal, but also for gold, it’s phenomenal. I tried to get to Imani first and I wanted to set up the ladies for a phenomenal run.
“I did not want anybody else in sight. I love how the championships are giving medals and the full squad to have their moment. This is a team effort.
We have worked so hard as a women’s team relay squad since 2012. We have pushed so hard for the last ten years. To stand on the podium with everyone is a very beautiful moment.
” Britain were given a warning for a first lane infringement but were able to keep their medal after not repeating it. Neita, who had cruelly missed out on a medal in the women’s 100m final earlier in the week, was most likely conscious of the slippery conditions and afforded a few extra milliseconds to make sure she had the baton well within her grasp. By the time she eventually had it safely clutched in her hand, she went hell for leather down the final straight with Sha’Carri Richardson, only to be pipped by the American 100 metre silver medallist on the line.
There was a cruel irony in how Richardson, known for her eccentric long nails, has some of the longest acrylic talons in women’s sprinting, but had no issue clawing the baton from Gabby Thomas before anchoring a well-drilled, dominant USA team home. As if to add insult to injury, there was initial confusion immediately after the race when Great Britain flashed up on the screen in first place but with the US flag. Richardson looked completely dumbfounded by the mix-up before the official results filtered through and Britain’s silver was confirmed.
“I was not going to let these ladies down,” said Neita. “When I got the baton from Amy, it was go-go-go. For us to be here with a silver medal at the Olympic Games, we are going on the podium and representing Team GB, we are so proud.
” Hunt, who was overwhelmed with tears of joy after winning a medal at her first Olympics, added: “There was so much chaos going on. We made sure we got in it. we are so well drilled as a team.
That is our biggest strength, we are skilled, we are smart ladies. I am really proud of these ladies.” Their male counterparts claimed bronze on a positive night for Britain’s relay team, as Zharnel Hughes motored down the straight to claim bronze.
Meanwhile, Amber Anning broke Christine Ohuruogu’s 11-year-old British record in the women’s 400 metre final, although her time of 49.29 seconds was not enough to claim bronze in a quick field won by Marileidi Paulino of the Dominican Republic..
