Noah Lyles celebrates as USA win the men's 4x100m relay final at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships yesterday.
The United States and Jamaica sprinted to gold in the men’s and women’s 4 x100-meter relay respectively at the IAAF World Championships at the Khalifa International Stadium.
With yesterday’s win, American Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles collected their second gold medals of the 10-day event.
In the women’s section, Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who guided Jamaica to the first place finish also collected her second gold medal in Doha.
It was her ninth career World championship gold medal as she became the third athlete to win nine or more world titles, after Allyson Felix (12) and Usain Bolt (11).
The United States team had a fiercely fast first leg by individual 100-meter champion Coleman who put the US on the way to win in a national record of 37.10 seconds despite a slow final handover to 200 champion Noah Lyles.
It’s the eighth world title in the 4x100 for the United States but first since 2007. Only Jamaica has run faster with Usain Bolt at the 2012 Olympics.
“I am all over the moon right now. I knew we have the talent to do come out here. I knew I had to take care of the 100m first. We have a great time, we got the American record. It’s been a great couple of weeks,” Coleman said after winning his second gold in Doha.
Jamaica's Natalliah Whyte, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jonielle Smith and Shericka Jackson celebrate after winning the women's 4x100 metres relay gold yesterday.
“This team is brotherhood. We’ve always had fast guys who make it to the finals in the 100m and 200m, but we never had the time to bond and get to know each other, and count on each other to get the job done together and not worry about any other legs or the stick. We just stick around and make magic happen,” Gatlin said.
“We put out the results. There are gold medals everywhere on the team,” Lyles said after winning USA’s 11th gold medal at the Doha Worlds.
Defending champions Britain took the silver in a European-record 37.36, with Japan coming third in 37.43.
Jamaica failed to qualify for the men’s final but dominated the women’s event. Fraser-Pryce running second chased down the British and US teams before Jonielle Smith’s third leg left Jamaica firmly in control.
Jamaica won in 41.44 seconds, 0.41 ahead of second-placed Britain. The British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith collected her third medal of the championships after individual 200m gold and 100m silver, and her third career world medal in the 4x100.
“It was absolutely fantastic to go and run out there and we are on the best way to Tokyo. We are ready. We worked for this really hard. The relays have always just fantastic atmosphere, I think the relay are one of the best things in the timetable. All the drama, excitement and when you got all the people specifically running for their country the crowds were amazing,” Asher-Smith said.
The US women’s team couldn’t defend its 2017 title as it took the bronze in 42.10, the fifth world championships in a row that it has finished on the podium.
