1968, respectively. When combined with fourth place finishes from Duane Solomon (800m), Bernard Lagat (5,000m) and Meb Keflezighi (marathon), it was a statement to the current strength of American distance running.
There was Allyson Felix grabbing elusive gold in the women’s 200m and leading a world-record setting 4x100m. After settling for silver in both 2004 and 2008, an Olympic individual gold medal was the only thing missing in Felix’s brilliant career.
And light bulbs flashed as Bianca Knight, Felix, Tianna Madison and Carmelita Jeter shattered the world record in the 4x100m by .55 seconds, which was the most the record had been dropped in the modern era.
The string of dominance in women’s sprints continued into the 400m. Just as was the case with Felix, the only thing missing from Sanya Richards-Ross’ Hall of Fame resume was an individual Olympic gold medal. The favorite in 2008, the pain of fading in the final stretch of the Olympic final was something Richards-Ross had no intentions of reliving. When she led a 1- 3 American finish in London, along with DeeDee Trotter winning bronze, it solidified her legacy.
And there is the image of Felix and Richards-Ross teaming with Trotter and Francena McCorory running away from the field in the 4x400m. The gold medal gave Team USA a total of seven medals in the women’s 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m combined and gave Felix and Richards-Ross a total of six and fiver career Olympic medals, respectively.
Not to be out done were the women’s hurdlers and the images of Dawn Harper (silver) and Kellie Wells (bronze) grabbing a pair of American medals in the 100m hurdles and a silver medal from veteran 400m hurdler Lashinda Demus in her first Olympic Games.
There was the similar resurgence of collegiate high jumpers Erik Kynard and Brigetta Barrett. When 2011 World Outdoor champion Jesse Williams and reigning World Indoor champion Chaunte Lowe faltered early in competition, Kynard and Barrett persevered each with silver medals to help Team USA build toward its historic total.
In an event as deep as any in track and field there was the image of Aries Merritt throughout the 2012 season becoming the best 110m hurdler in the world. Already the reigning World Indoor champion, Merritt seized the opportunity with China’s Liu Xiang out of competition due to injury and world record holder Dayron Robles struggling with injuries of his own. The 12.92 Merritt ran to win gold was his fifth sub-13-second race of the season – following the Games Merritt owned the five fastest times in the world in 2012 justifying his season of dominance.
There were also shots of historic performances in the men’s 4x100m. No team in American history has run faster than the silver medal performance of Trell Kimmons, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey in 37.04.
There was the image of tears flowing from the eyes of Jenn Suhr following her gold medal winning jump in the pole vault. When world record holder and 2008 Olympic champion Elena Isinbaeva struggled, Suhr took full advantage. The emotions were validation after a year-long battle with injuries for Suhr to land atop the podium.
The shot of Brittney Reese is one of amazing ability. Challenging the board on each jump, the long jumper grabbed her fifth consecutive World Indoor, World Outdoor or Olympic gold medal in the event. When combined with the bronze from Janay DeLoach it was the first time American women have won two Olympic medals in the event.
There are images of the celebrations of Ashton Eaton winning gold and Trey Hardee silver in the men’s decathlon. In a season that has seen two world records, a World Indoor title and Olympic gold medal, few would believe there is anything Eaton cannot do.
There were also Christian Taylor and Will Claye. Teammates while at the University of Florida are now taking over the horizontal jumps. Taylor’s gold in the triple jump and Claye’s silver and bronze in the triple jump and long jump, respectively, were a glimpse into the future for American men in the events.
For more images, results and stories from the London Olympic Games see www.usatf.org. 11