Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2007-09-04 From: Xinhuanet

BEIJING, Sept. 3 (Xinhuanet) — Sprinter Allyson Felix capped a brilliant showing by the USA track and field team on Sunday in Osaka, Japan, running one of the greatest 400-meter relay legs in the sport’s history to lead her teammates to a gold medal and highlight America’s most dominant display ever at a world track and field championships.

Felix — who’s been described as gracious, graceful and oh so fast — became the second woman to win three gold medals at a world championships. The other was Marita Koch of East Germany at the first worlds in 1983.

With 26 medals, 14 of them gold, the Americans delivered a message to the world heading in to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“I think we have a great feeling going into the next year,” Felix said.

The meet ended with Jeremy Wariner, a two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist, clocking 43.10 seconds in the anchor leg of the victorious U.S. men’s 1,600-meter relay team.

“We just sat back and watched them,” Felix said. “They were the completion of it all, and it was just an amazing feeling.”

Felix’s breathtaking second leg of the women’s 1,600 was timed unofficially by the U.S. staff at 48 seconds. That’s faster than the 48.2 Florence-Griffith Joyner ran in helping set the American record at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She also defended her 200 title and ran the second leg of the winning 400 relay team.

The men were going after the world record, but fell short at 2 minutes, 55.56 seconds. The record is 2:54.20 set by the Americans at the Goodwill Games in Uniondale, N.Y., in 1998. The men ran the third-fastest 1,600 relay in history and second-fastest at the worlds.

“Going in, we knew we had a chance to get the world record with the team we had,” said Wariner, who won his second world 400 title earlier Friday night. “The coaches set it up perfect, with LaShawn (Merritt) out of the hole, Angelo (Taylor) second, Darold (Williamson) third, and me anchoring. We were going for the record, but at the same time the main focus was to get the gold.”

Bernard Lagat became the first American to win the 1,500 and 5,000 at a worlds. He had only won a bronze in his long career running as a Kenyan before this, his first major international competition running for America. The United States had never won a gold in the 1,500, and Lagat’s victory in the 5,000 Sunday brought the first U.S. medal of any kind in the event.

On Saturday, 100 and 200 champion Tyson Gay ran a leg for the winning 400 relay team to join Carl Lewis and Maurice Greene as the only men to win three golds at a worlds.