4 × 100 metres Relay, Men

Jamaica had won the gold medal at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, led by superstar sprinter Usain Bolt, and Bolt and the Jamaicans were back for a three-peat. The United States was expected to be their biggest challenge, led by Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, and Trayvon Bromell. However, the US was renowned for botching baton exchanges, having done so at the last 143 major internationals, or so it seemed.

Both teams made it to the final, and the Jamaicans won the expected gold medal, with the United States finishing third, trailing the surprise Japanese team, who won the silver medal. Moments after the finish, the requisite disqualification of the US team occurred, as video showed the first exchange had been made out of the zone, and the US continued its streak of being DQed in this event, as Canada moved up to bronze. The Japanese team’s individual 100 metre PRs were not even close to the marks of the other teams, but their baton exchanges were impeccable, which led to their silver medal.

Bolt’s gold medal in this event was his 9th overall, equaling the mark for track & field athletics held by Paavo Nurmi and Carl Lewis, although still trailing the 10 won by Ray Ewry, if one includes the 1906 Intercalated Olympics. However, shortly after the Olympics, in re-testing of samples from the Beijing Olympics, one of his teammates on the 2008 relay, Nesta Carter, had a positive test for methylhexanamine. He was initially disqualified but appealed the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). However, the appeal was not successful, meaning Carter remained disqualified and Bolt lost his 2008 relay gold medal, affecting his medal standings as noted above.