Watch: U.S. women's 4x400 leaves competition in dust

Alexis Holmes. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: U.S. women's 4x400 relay team leaves competition in dust with incredible run

By Eric Smithling | Last updated Aug 10, 2024 5:14 PM ET

The Team USA women's 4x400m relay team left no doubt in its breathtaking gold-medal performance on Saturday.

Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas and Alexis Holmes finished the relay in three minutes, 15.27 seconds, 4.23 seconds ahead of the silver medalsts, the Netherlands (3:19:50).

Here's video of the finish, along with a still image from the race that illustrated how big the gap was between Team USA and the field. (h/t Rodger Sherman)

Team USA DOMINATES the women’s 4x400m final to win their EIGHTH consecutive gold! #ParisOlympics

NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/TqHh7HEehu
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 10, 2024

TEAM USA WINS THE 4X400 BY 400 MILES pic.twitter.com/dPLATD6yNO
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) August 10, 2024

McLaughlin-Levrone, who ran the second leg of the relay, capped a sensational Olympic Games by recording the second-fasted split ever in the 4x400 (47.70 seconds), per Track & Field Gazette.

An American Record

The second fastest 4x400 split ever from Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone - 47.70

The second fastest time ever of 3:15.27#Paris2024 #Olympics #Athletics pic.twitter.com/boIywvtOlZ
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) August 10, 2024

On Aug. 8, McLaughlin-Levrone won gold in the women's 400m hurdles with a world-record time (50:37).

There’s NO catching Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone!

She adds ANOTHER 400m hurdles gold medal and WORLD RECORD to her collection. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/RJ7reApKfV
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024

The 4x400 win also gave Thomas a remarkable third gold medal at this year's Games. Thomas won gold in the women's 4x100m relay and the 200m.

Mission accomplished for Gabby Thomas with a GOLD medal in the 200m! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/O7wQjNquCi
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024

Little won silver in the mixed 4x400m relay on Aug 3, while Saturday's 4x400 relay win was Harris' first at this year's Games.

The group's performance is arguably the country's most dominant in a gold-medal event so far at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It was on par with Katie Ledecky's win in the women's 1500m swim on July 31. Ledecky set an Olympic record by finishing the race in 15:30:02, over 10 seconds ahead of silver-medalist Anastasiya Kirpichnikova (15:40:35).

In both instances, there wasn't any suspense about who would win. And for a brief moment, each athlete left the audience suspended in disbelief.

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans

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