Rio 2016: United States sweeps Women’s 100m hurdles

For the first time in Olympic history, the United States as a country swept the podium in the Women’s 100m Hurdles at Rio 2016

Brianna Rollins of the United States entered the Women’s 100m Hurdles final at Rio 2016 the day before her 25th birthday. After a dominant buildup to the Olympics, Rollins was widely regarded as the favorite to win gold in the event and rightfully so. Even more special, though, is that she was joined in the final by two of her American teammates, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin. The big question was whether Rollins would live up to the role as favorite and what her teammates would do.

Right off of the blocks, it was clear that Rollins was the woman to beat in the event. She surged out ahead of the field after only the first couple of hurdles. She was then in control and only had to outrun anyone who might try to make a late push past here. However, what was special was that it was her two teammates chasing her—even if they weren’t going to catch her.

Rollins comfortably crossed the finish line first to win the United States the gold. However, it was Ali who finished solidly in second place to win the silver. Behind her, though, it was a photo finish between two or three runners. After the judges went to the monitor to see who crossed first, it was determined that it was indeed Castlin just edging out Cindy Ofili of Great Britain for the bronze.

The United States completed a sweep of the podium in the Women’s 100m Hurdles at Rio 2016. in doing so, they became the first country to ever do so in the event. For an Olympic Games that has been full of records and dominance from the United States, this may indeed be among the most impressive feats.