Wineberg Wins Gold in 4 x 400 Meter Relay

Submitted by ROeditor on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 17:32.

Date:

08/27/2008 - 17:27

Former University of Cincinnati and Walnut Hills High School runner Mary Wineberg clocked 51.0 for her opening leg, positioning the U.S. just behind Russia, along with Jamaica and Great Britain. The women’s 4 x 400 meter team went on to run the fastest time in fifteen years with their 3:18.54 to win.

Mary Wineberg "I felt really good. Our goal was to come together as a team, and for me to run the first leg, get our team out there and pass the baton to Allyson. We're happy, we're excited and we're gold medalists.”

( USATF Press Release) Team USA proved stronger than ever in the 4x400-meter relays, winning both events and setting an Olympic record in Saturday evening action at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium.

With only the men's marathon remaining on Sunday morning, Team USA tops the medal table with 23 total and seven gold. Russia is next with 18 medals and 6 gold; Jamaica has 11 medals and 6 gold. Team USA's women finish with nine medals, their best total since 1992 and their third-highest total in history.

Relay power

The relays provided redemption for anchor legs Sanya Richards (Austin, Texas) and Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Texas), who had been disappointed with their third and second place finishes, respectively, in the women's and men's 400 meters.

On Saturday, they put on world-beating performances.

The women were first up on the track. Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) clocked 51.0 for her opening leg, positioning the U.S. just behind Russia, along with Jamaica and Great Britain. At the stagger break, Jamaica was in the lead, followed by Allyson Felix (Los Angeles) running for the USA, and Russia. The 200m silver medalist, Felix moved into the lead around the curve and handed off to 2004 Olympic relay gold medalist Monique Henderson, having clocked a blistering leg of 48.55. Henderson (Chula Vista, Calif.) turned in a 50.06 split but was passed by Russia with 20 meters left in her leg.

When Richards took the baton, she trailed Russia by approximately three meters. Biding her time, she waited until the final straight to move into first, turning in a 48.93 leg and crossing the line in 3:18.54, the fastest time in the world since 1993. Russia was second in 3:18.82 and Jamaica third in 3:20.40.

The men's race was never in doubt. 400-meter gold medalist LaShawn Merritt opened with a 44.35 leg, and at the break, 400m hurdles gold medalist Angelo Taylor (Decatur, Ga.) had gapped the field by seven meters. After a 43.70 leg by Taylor, 400m bronze medalist David Neville added to the U.S. lead and clocked 44.16 in handing off to 2004 400m gold medalist and 2008 silver medalist Wariner.

Running with the same passion and determination of Richards and all his teammates, Wariner blazed a 43.16 leg and finished in 2:55.39 to break the Olympic record. The previous mark of 2:55.74 was set by Americans Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Michael Johnson and Steve Lewis in 1992, and was a world record at the time it was set. The Bahamas were a distant second in 2:58.03 and Russia was third in 2:58.06.

Howard sixth in high jump

Olympic Trials champion Chaunte Howard finished sixth in the women's high jump in her second trip to the Olympic Games. The 24-year-old mother cleared 1.85m/6-0.75 and 1.89m/6-2.25 on her first tries. She made the next two heights - 1.93m/6-4 and 1.96m/6-5 - on her second attempts, then got over a season-best height of 1.99m/6-6.25 on her third attempt. Three tries at 2.01m/6-7 were unsuccessful.

Tia Hellebaut of Belgium pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the Games, defeating the dominant Blanka Vlasic of Croatia for the gold. Both women cleared 2.05m/6-8.75, but Hellebaut did it on her first try, while Vlasic required two attempts. The height was a national record for Belgium. Anna Chicherova of Russia came third with 2.03m/6-8.

Rowbury 7th in 1500

Olympic Trials champion Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco, Calif.) turned in the top performance ever by an American woman in the Olympic 1,500m final. Rowbury ran a smart race from the gun, positioning herself in the top six and out of trouble as the pace came through at 65.90 for 400m and 2:13.70 for 800m. With 500 meters left in the race, world champion Maryam Jamal of Bahrain picked up the pace, stringing out the pack. Rowbury was in fourth at the break as Jamal came through 1200m in 3:16.41.

The torrid pace caught up with Jamal, and she was passed with authority in the final 200 meters by Nancy Jebet Langat of Kenya, who won in 4:00.23. Iryna Lishchynska moved up to second in 4:01.63, with Nataliya Tobias of Ukraine third in 4:01.78. Rowbury finished seventh in 4:03.58, the highest placing for an American in this event. On three other occasions, Americans had been eighth: Ruth Wysocki in 1984, Mary Decker Slaney in 1988, and Marla Runyan in 2000. Jamal faded to fifth in 4:02.71.

Lagat ninth in 5,000m

Unlike the slow, tactical race of the 2007 World Championships, the Olympic men's 5,000m was an honest pace from the start, leading to a fantastic finish. Three Ethiopians - Kenenisa Bekele, Tariku Bekele and Abreham Cherkos - traded the lead for the first several laps. As the field came through 1 km in 2:45.49 and 2 km in 5:22.29, world champion Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.) ran comfortably in fifth or sixth place, as Matt Tegenkamp (Madison, Wis.) settled in ninth.

With five laps remaining, Kenenisa Bekele took the pace out, covering the next 400 meters in 60.2 seconds and stringing out the field. With three laps to go, Lagat was fourth and Tegenkamp remained ninth. Shortly after, Lagat began to fade and Bekele continued to push. At the finish, Kenenisa Bekele broke the Olympic record and added the 5,000m gold to the 10,000 title he already won here in Beijing. His winning time was 12:57.82, and he was followed to the finish by Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya (13:02.80) and Edwin Cheruiyot Soi of Kenya (13:06.22). Lagat was ninth in 13:26.89 and Tegenkamp 13th in 13:33.13.

Women's 4x400m final

Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati, Ohio): "I felt really good. Our goal was to come together as a team, and for me to run the first leg, get our team out there and pass the baton to Allyson. We're happy, we're excited and we're gold medalists. I wasn't nervous at all because I knew Sanya would run a really strong leg for us. She passed the Russian and she kept her composure."

Monique Henderson (Chula Vista, Calif.): "It's an amazing feeling to win a gold medal. It was really touch-and-go there for a while. Thankfully, Sanya ran a great anchor leg and brought us back to win the gold."

"Allyson gave me a great lead and I was out there to hold it. I held them off the best I could, but unfortunately the Russian girl went by me at the end. It was great to see us be able to come back and pull out the win."

Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita, Calif.): "We wanted it to end on a high note. We've had our ups and downs. We came out with a new attitude tonight - men and women - and it worked out. We had confidence in Sanya."

Sanya Richards (Austin, Texas): "We were just really excited to come out and win.

It's so different to be the one that is chansing instead of the one that is being chased. I just went out there and had fun. I knew I'd have to put out a supreme effort for our team to win. Before the race we said we're going to win gold tonight. I'm happy I got a chance to come back out and have a chance at a gold."

Men's 4X400m final

David Neville (Valencia, Calif.): "I feel pretty good. It's been a long Olympics and I ran a lot of races, but we did well. I came out and did my job in the relay. I had three other great guys to run with, and we have the Olympic record. I wasn't trying to relax at all because our goal was to win the gold and run the best we could. That's exactly what we did."

Angelo Taylor (Decatur, Ga.): "It feels great to win my second gold medal. I couldn't be any happier. It doesn't get any sweeter than this - I'm overjoyed. We definitely went out there to break the World record. We still came away with the Olympic record and the win, so we're real pleased with that."

"Everyone ran a great leg. LaShawn gave me a comfortable lead and I just tried to open it up even more. We have the best 400 runners in the World in the U.S. and we proved it again tonight. It's a great combination."

LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.): "We have four of the top quarter-milers in the world. We swept the 400 and we swept the 400m hurdles. I told Neville that all he had to do was run his race. This was our first championship with him on a major level. My first Games with two gold medals, a PR and an Olympic record. You couldn't ask for anything better than that."

"I wanted to run well for the U.S., and we ended it with an Olympic record. I came into the Games with something I wanted to do. I did what I came to do. It's the Olympic Games. You have to show up. If you don't show up all year, this is the time to do it. I showed up and I was victorious."

Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Texas): "This is great. Coming into the relay, we all came together and wanted to run as a team. We all ran our hardest and ended up getting an Olympic record. A lot of things happened in this Olympics that we weren't expecting. We use that to build on."

"This was a great way to finish the Olympics. It could have been a World record with a close race, but we all ran comfortable out there."

Women's high jump final

Chaunte Howard (Snellville, Ga.): "I think that there's more to the Olympics than just winning medals. I think it's about friendship, working hard and doing your best. That's what I came out here to do today."

Men's 5,000m final

Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.): "They ran a tough race today. My body didn't respond. I went there with one mindset. I wanted to stay up with the leaders. But I couldn't go. I got slower and slower. I developed a virus infection in my throat. During the race, my throat was burning like crazy."

Matt Tegenkamp (Madison, Wisc.): "I just didn't have it tonight. I have a lot of work to do and I know I need to get stronger. I need to figure out how to stay relaxed and stay with the leaders in the most important part of the race."

Women's 1,500m final

Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco): "It's hard to explain, but sometimes when you want to go, it's just not there. I tried to stay with them as much as I could. I was trying to go with them, but I didn't have my legs today."

For more information on Team USA at the Olympic Games, including athlete quotes, event schedule, TV schedule and complete results, visit www.usatf.org

Team USA medal table, 2008 Olympic Games

Gold (7)

Stephanie Brown Trafton (Galt, Calif.), women's discus, 64.74m/212-5

Angelo Taylor (Decatur, Ga.), men's 400m hurdles, 47.25

Dawn Harper (Los Angeles), women's 100m hurdles, 12.54

LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.), men's 400m, 43.75

Bryan Clay (Glendora, Calif.), decathlon, 8,791

Women's 4x400m relay: Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati, Ohio), Allyson Felix (Los Angeles), Monique Henderson (Chula Vista, Calif.), Sanya Richards (Austin, Texas), 3:18.54

Men's 4x400m relay: LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.), Angelo Taylor (Decatur, Ga.), David Neville (Los Angeles), Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Texas), 2:55.39 OLYMPIC RECORD

Silver (9)

Christian Cantwell (Columbia, Mo.), men's shot put, 21.09m/69-2.5

Hyleas Fountain (Kettering, Ohio), women's heptathlon, 6619 points

Jenn Stuczynski (Churchville, N.Y.), women's pole vault, 4.80m/15-9

Kerron Clement (Los Angeles), men's 400m hurdles, 47.98

Sheena Johnson Tosta (Chula Vista, Calif.), women's 400m hurdles, 53.70.

Shawn Crawford (Los Angeles), men's 200m, 19.96

Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Texas), men's 400m, 44.74

David Payne (Hampton, Va.), men's 110m hurdles, 13.17

Allyson Felix (Los Angeles), women's 200, 21.93

Bronze (7)

Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.), women's 10,000m, 30:22.22AR