US men’s 4x400M relay team sets a new mark at the Games

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Rai Benjamin held off Letsile Tebogo on the anchor leg to give the United States a gold medal and an Olympic-record time in the men’s 4x400-meter relay at the Paris Games on Saturday night.

Benjamin added this Olympic title to the one he claimed in the 400-meter hurdles a night earlier and prevented 200-meter champion Tebogo from giving Botswana another triumph over the Americans.

It was Tebogo, the 21-year-old sprinting sensation, who stole the spotlight — and the gold — from the U.S. in the 200 on Thursday, relegating Kenny Bednarek to silver and Noah Lyles, who tested positive for COVID-19, to bronze.

The U.S. quartet of Christopher Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Benjamin completed the four laps in 2 minutes, 54.43 seconds, nearly a second faster than the American 4x400 team ran at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And Saturday’s time was just .14 seconds off the world record set by the United States in 1993.

Botswana was a tenth of a second back Saturday, with Tebogo joined by Bayapo Ndori, Busang Collen Kebinatshipi and Anthony Pesela.

Britain was third in 2:55.83.