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Talk races and there are very few names that would edge the nation of Jamaica. All timer Usain Bolt, the electric Shelly-Anne Fraser Pryce, Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake amongst others have donned the famous strips over the years.
In the relay category of the 2012 London Olympics, the Jamaicans expectedly brought the heat having won the category in the previous edition at Beijing and setting a world record just a year prior at the world championships in Daegu with a whopping 37.04 track time.
With strong performances from many of the country’s athletes in other events, eyes were set on the relay as the icing of the cake.
The run-up to the finals was overshadowed by a recurring groin injury to the veteran Asafa Powell — who took the final lap in the Beijing tournament.
Hence, the squad was headlined by 100-meter and 200-meter champion Usain Bolt, joined by 100-meter and 200-meter runner-up Yohan Blake, Nesta Carter and the furious Michael Frater.
Jamaica ran out champions in an impressive world record of 36.84 seconds beating the previous standard by 0.2 seconds against the advances of the red-hot United States of America, Trinidad and Tobago and even the French contingent.
After the race, Usain Bolt remarked “it was a wonderful feeling to end on a high note. It was a great championships, I’m happy, the team came out and gave it their all … I wish we could have gone faster,” he half-joked, “but we leave room for improvement.”
Giving their nation an extra edge to their independence day celebration.
While there have been many memorable races in the field of athletics, this 4X100 relay remains as one of the most epic performances in a relay event.
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