Femke Bol reels in US relay team late to give Olympic gold to Netherlands in 4x400 mixed relay

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Femke Bol of the Netherlands reeled in three runners over the last half lap Saturday to give her country the Olympic gold medal in the 4x400-meter mixed relay.

Bol, whose best race is the 400 hurdles, ran her final lap in 47.93 seconds and the Netherlands won the race in 3 minutes, 7.43 seconds — .31 clear of the United States.

Bol pulled a similar stunt last year at world championships in the women's 4x400, rallying from well behind late to earn a gold medal. That came after she tripped and fell in the home strech of the mixed relay, where she was making up ground on the U.S.

The Americans put the same team out Saturday as they had the day before when they set the world record at 3:07.41.

They were tied for the lead with Belgium when Bryce Deadmon handed off to Kaylyn Brown for the anchor lap. But Brown could not hold off Bol, who has the sixth-fastest time in the world this year in the 400 flat.

Bol will be back on the track Sunday for the opening round of the women's 400 hurdles.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games