Botswana claims gold in men's 4x400m in Tokyo
When US anchor leg runner #Rai_Benjamin🇺🇸, the 400m hurdles champion, carried a two-metre lead into the final straight it, seemed as if the USA – despite what looked like a catastrophic start to this competition in the previous day’s heats – were set for another visit to the top of the podium.
Behind him, 🥉#South_Africa🇿🇦 – winners at the World Athletics Relays – and Olympic silver medallists Botswana appeared to be contesting silver.
And when #Zakithi_Nene🇿🇦, added to the team having finished fifth in the individual final, came on strong on the outside, it looked as if South Africa 🇿🇦 would win that contest and perhaps even put final pressure on Benjamin🇺🇸.
But there was one final twist remaining on a track glistening with rain under the aptly named floodlights as the slight figure of #Collen_Kebinatshipi 🇧🇼somehow floated through the middle of his two challengers, just as he had in winning the individual 400m title, to bring 🥇Botswana 🇧🇼 home to their longed-for gold in 2:57:76.
#Benjamin🇺🇸, who had no chance to react to this final surge, edged the 🥈United States🇺🇸 to silver by two-thousandths of a second as they shared the same given time with 🥉South Africa🇿🇦 of 2:57:83.
No one would have been happier for the result than Botswana’s second-leg runner, #Letsile_Tebogo🇧🇼, who had helped them take Olympic silver in Paris after winning the individual 200m title but who had seen the other side of fortune in Tokyo after being disqualified for a false start in the 100m final and missing out on a 200m medal by one place, despite clocking 19.65.
Tebogo🇧🇼 had put Botswana 🇧🇼 back level with the United States 🇺🇸 after making up ground on #Jacory_Patterson 🇺🇸on the second leg with a super-fast split of 44.05.
#Bayapo_Ndori🇧🇼, the 400m bronze medallist and another of the Paris 2024 silver medallists, kept them in the hunt before handing over to the ethereal talent of #Kebinatshipi🇧🇼 – who delivered once again in stupendous fashion.
Tebogo🇧🇼, delighted, was the one to instigate Botswana’s celebrations as the four young men in pale blue shirts high-stepped their way deliriously through sloshing puddles with the zest of Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain.
A United States 🇺🇸 quartet entirely different from the one that contested the final had finished outside qualification after coming home sixth in their heat. But they were able to progress after beating Kenya 🇰🇪 in a run-off earlier in the day after it had been decided that they had both been impeded by the Zambian 🇿🇲team who were subsequently disqualified.
South Africa’s 🇿🇦challenge had been kept alive by an inspired third-leg run from their 33-year-old 400m world record-holder #Wayde_Van_Niekerk🇿🇦.
Fourth place went to the consistently talented 4️⃣#Belgian 🇧🇪team, who clocked 2:59:48 ahead of 5️⃣#Qatar 🇶🇦 in 3:01:64, with 6️⃣#Great_Britain 🇬🇧taking sixth place in 3:03:05.
One more photo below.
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