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ATHLETICS - Relay racing has always been considered one of the (if not the) most exciting forms of racing in the world. And rightfully so, it has produced some of the greatest moments in history. Hence, in order to honor them, we have decided to discuss the events in this blog elaborately.
So, let’s get started with it.
1936 Olympic, Berlin - 4 x 100 Meter Race (Men’s)
The Berlin Olympic, which saw the rise of Jesse Owens, also produced one of the most cheered about relay racing moments in history. The event saw a disapproving Adolf Hitler witnessing the American team flying like an eagle through the tracks and winning the Gold medal unanimously.
It concluded as the fourth Gold for Jesse Owens while Frank Wykoff, the American Anchorman, won his 3rd Gold medal. The frantic commentary made it even more worthwhile to watch.
1964 Olympic, Tokyo - 4 x 100 Meter Race (Men’s)
The relay racing scene in the Olympics has always been dominated by the USA. And, the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 saw the same incident happening, again and again. During the race, USA used Bob Hayes, the future NFL star and 100-meter Gold medalist, to gain an advantage.
And he did put on a performance of money’s worth too. When he took the baton from his anchor, his team was in fifth place. However, he took over everyone else and went to the first position in only a few seconds or within 30 meters of distance.
He won two Gold medals during the entire event and got the name ‘Bullet Bob’ that represented his elemental speed and physicality.
1988 Olympic, South Korea - 4 x 100 Meter Race (Women’s)
The performance of the American women team in the semi-finals was quite disappointing, as the team almost failed to qualify for the finals. Nevertheless, once they got there, they showed why the entire team deserved to win the finals and get the prestigious Gold medal.
Florence Griffith Joyner, the fastest woman in the world ran a well-controlled yet strong third leg during the event to inspire her team. And Evelyn Ashford took the responsibility and delivered a performance of a lifetime by defeating Marlies Gohr for the Gold.
Yes, it was, indeed, another victory for the Americans over the Germans!
1991 World Championship, Tokyo - 4 x 400 Meter Race (Men’s)
Unlike almost any other athletic event, the relay racing event has a massive potential to pull off a huge upset. And the 1991 Tokyo World Champion witnessed the most engrossing one, ever.
In this case, the British were victorious against the Americans who were always excellent in this form of race. During the race, Kriss Akabusi got the baton when he was three meters behind the amazing Antonio Pettigrew, the 400-meter Gold medalist.
Even after falling behind, he charged up the track and ran without making any mistake. It was an electrifying spectacle to behold as both of the athletes gave their all to win the race.
2011 World Championship, Daegu - 4 x 100 Meter Race (Men’s)
The American downfall in relay racing began in the 21st Century with the rise of the magnificent Usain Bolt. He alone had anchored three relays while inducing a world record in each of them.
And the same happened during the 2011 South Korea World Championship when Darvis Pratton tripped in the final passing zone. And the Jamaican team won the gold again while the USA were not to be found, even in the top three of the competition.
2014 World Relays, Bahamas - 4 x 800 Meter Race (Men’s)
The World Relays is an exciting event for the lovers of relay racing, as it offers the opportunity to enjoy an 800-meter race. And what a spectacle the entire event was to behold.
The Kenyan athletes began the race keeping the world record in mind (7:02:43). They started the race in an uplifting fashion too, as their anchorman took a 30-meter lead at the beginning and ran his first two laps in only 49 seconds. While they couldn’t beat the world record (7:08:40), they were excellent in their performance and won the Gold medal too!
The Final Say!
So, that will be all for this article.
If you have any question regarding anything, don’t forget to ask us all about it in the comments. We will try to help you out in any way we can!
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