ITALY PRODUCED A stunning performance to win the men’s 4×100 metres relay Olympic title on Friday for the first time in their history with a national record of 37.50sec.
Britain’s men made up for a poor series of performances in the individual sprints by taking silver in 37.51sec while Canada won bronze in 37.70sec.
Italy’s victory gave their surprise 100m individual champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs his second gold of the Games.
The British looked like they would take an unlikely gold as they led by a metre at the final changeover.
However, the unheralded Filippo Tortu reeled in Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and sealed gold with the dip on the line.
Behind them, Andre De Grasse ran a stunning anchor leg to overhaul both Jamaica and China to add relay bronze to his 200m gold medal and 100m bronze.
Tortu looked as stunned as anyone at the finish and put his hands to his head as he nimbly dodged some obstacles in his way.
A sizeable group of Italian team members seated in the stands roared out in delight and serenaded the triumphant quartet with some Italian songs.
Tortu mounted the electronic scoring board and stood proudly on top of it, as the Italians lapped up their compatriots’ singing.
Meanwhile, Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas successfully defended her Olympic 400m crown on Friday, completing a double for the Caribbean nation following compatriot Steven Gardiner’s victory in the men’s race.
The 27-year-old from Nassau surged to the line in 48.36sec, with Maileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic taking silver and Allyson Felix of the United States claiming bronze.
“I am so happy right now I could cry,” Miller-Uibo said. “I’ve been dealing with a whole lot of injuries and to be able to pull this one off is amazing.”
Felix’s bronze medal makes her the most decorated female athlete in track and field history with 10 medals won across five Olympic campaigns.
The 35-year-old American star, competing in her last Olympics in Tokyo, held off a fierce challenge from Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann McPherson to take bronze in 49.46sec.
