The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Akinosun wins gold in 4x100 at IAAF World Championships
08.12.2017 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Hardee retires after final decathlon
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LONDON – Lifetime Longhorn Morolake Akinosun is a world champion.
The Olympic gold medalist and one of the most decorated track and field athletes in history at the University of Texas, Akinosun ran the third leg of the women's 4x100 meter relay at the IAAF World Championships on Saturday to help Team USA win gold in 41.82 seconds.
Akinosun took the baton from Allyson Felix in the turn and handed to Tori Bowie as she sprinted down the straightaway and held off Great Britain. The time of 41.82 is the fastest 4x100 in the world this year.
The tone was set earlier in the day when Akinosun teamed up with Aaliyah Brown, Felix and Ariana Washington in the prelims to run 41.84 and advance to the final. That was the fastest time in the world this year until the gold-medal run in the final.
This marks the second medal won by a Longhorn at the IAAF World Championships this year, joining Michelle Carter's bronze in the women's shot put. It is Akinosun's first career medal at the world championships. She did earn a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games last summer in the 4x100.
After ?? in 2015, @usatf's women reclaim 4x100m #IAAFworlds ?? in London with WL 41.82. pic.twitter.com/ObbKbd9i0z
— IAAF (@iaaforg) August 13, 2017
Another Longhorn will go for gold on Sunday after Chrisann Gordon helped Jamaica advance through the prelims of the women's 4x400 meter relay.
Gordon ran the third leg for Jamaica early on Saturday morning. The team clocked in at 3:23.64 to win its heat and automatically advance to Sunday's final. The time was just over two seconds behind Team USA's mark from its heat.
The 2017 NCAA champion has experience at the world championships. Gordon helped Jamaica win gold at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing. She finished 10th in the semifinals of the women's 400 meters earlier this week at the championships from London.
Two-time world champion Trey Hardee saw his quest for a third gold medal in the decathlon come to an end on Saturday morning from London after he fell in the 110 meter hurdles.
Hardee opened Day 2 of the decathlon sitting in fifth place, but his fall and subsequent disqualification in the hurdles awarded him zero points and halted his pursuit of a medal. He also had three fouls in the discus to not score points there and before withdrawing from the final three events.
After struggling through an ankle injury in 2016, Hardee was unable to make the Olympic team. He returned to competition this year and won another USATF Championship crown.
Following his withdrawal from the decathlon, Hardee did tell NBC's Lewis Johnson he is retiring from the sport, ending a career that saw him win two world titles and an Olympic silver medal during an era in which Team USA dominated the decathlon.
Fans can watch the final day of action from London Stadium at the IAAF World Championships on NBC beginning at 1:30 p.m. Central. Gordon and her teammates run the 4x400 relay final at 2:55 p.m. NBC Sports Gold will provide exclusive live online coverage of the morning's race walk championships and field events for subscribers to the service. Live results also will be provided on the IAAF World Championships homepage located at iaaf.org.
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