Team U.S.A. takes a backseat on the track

For a few seconds Sunday it looked like America’s Justin Gatlin might make history. He exploded off the line in Sunday’s 100-meter final, barely ahead of the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt. He held the lead for 60 meters before Bolt rocketed ahead. The Jamaican passed the finish line 0.8 seconds ahead of Gatlin, turning to grin at the camera as he captured gold. Gatlin took silver.

Last weekend, with track and field events in full swing and gymnastics and swimming winding down, The United States racked up the medal count, reaching 69 through Sunday.

On Saturday, the U.S. women’s swimming team won the 4x100-meter medley relay to bring home the United States’ 1,000th Olympic gold. Directly after, in Michael Phelps’ last-ever race, the U.S. men won their medley relay. The next day, Simone Biles scored another gold in the individual gymnastics events, winning on the vault.

But in the running competitions, Americans aren’t always the stars.

Bolt, now 29 and retiring, is aiming for an incredible triple-triple in his third Olympics. He hopes to defend his championships in the 100-, 200-, and 4x100-meter races he has won in the previous two Games. Sunday, he celebrated his first victory of the triples, pounding his chest and hamming it up for the crowd.

“Jamaica, stand up!” he wrote on Twitter, “This is for you, my people!”

In the 400-meter race before Bolt’s final, South Africa’s Wade van Niekerk smashed the record set by U.S. sprint legend Michael Johnson. Van Niekerk left the favorite, Lashawn Merritt of the United States, paces behind in third place. Merritt had the fastest time of the year before that race. Niekerk won South Africa’s first athletic gold in 20 years.

Kenyan marathoner Jemima Sungong gave her country its first Rio gold by winning the women’s marathon Sunday. She ran the 26.2 miles under the broiling South American sun to finish in 2:24.04. U.S. runners Desiree Linden and Amy Cragg hung close to the speeding front pack, placing in the top 10, without a chance to medal. But their teammates Jenny Simpson and Shannon Rowbury may have a better chance. They both qualified for the 1,500-meter final Tuesday.

The women’s races continue today with American Allyson Felix running her 400-meter race tonight, hoping for gold in her only individual event. The men’s 800-meter final is at the same time, with many of their qualifiers to be decided tomorrow.