Jamaica wins World Championship 4x100m finals in record time, SKN get bronze!

Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrate victory and a new world record in the men's 4x100 metres relay final (Getty Images)

Daegu, Korea – An explosive Jamaican blitz descended upon Daegu Stadium on the final day of the 13th edition of the IAAF World Championships as a quartet from the Caribbean sprinting powerhouse broke the World record in the men’s 4x100m Relay.

France finished second a world championship record 1.16 seconds behind the dominant Jamaicans to win the silver medal in 38.20 with Saint Kitts and Nevis claiming bronze in 38.49.

The Americans, who had never been beaten in a world championship 4x100m final, failed to finish after their third-leg runner Darvis Patton clipped a British athlete and fell over before attempting to pass the baton to Walter Dix. This accident seemed to visibly affect the Trinidad and Tobago team who failed to place.

With a mind-numbing run through the final straight, Usain Bolt anchored the squad to a 37.04 mark in the Championships’ final event, eclipsing the 37.10 previous record another Jamaican crew set at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. But the superstar, who sped to 200m gold yesterday, couldn’t have done it without the brilliant precision of teammates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Yohan Blake, the latter the 100m winner at these championships, who pieced together what was then already an insurmountable lead.
The final event heroics by the Jamaican fearsome foursome was just one of seven events on the final day’s programme that brought to a close nine days of action not lacking in drama, suspense and surprise.

Congrats to all the Caribbean athletes who took home medals at the 2011 IAAF World Championships!