U.S. women cruise to gold medal in 4x400 relay

RIO DE JANEIRO — American women closed a strong Olympics performance in track and field, as Courtney Okolo, Natasha Hastings, Phyllis Francis and Allyson Felix cruised to victory in the 4x400-meter relay.

It's the sixth consecutive gold medal for the USA in this event.

It's the ninth total medal, and sixth gold (five in relays), for Felix, the most decorated U.S. female track and field Olympian and tied with Merlene Ottey for most overall.

"This one wasn't an individual medal, and the great thing is I get to share it with these great friends," Felix said. "I am so blessed.

"Track and field is such a big part of my life. In track and field, there are always bumps in the road and each one of us had a unique journey to get here, but we pushed through."

Felix got the baton with a slight lead on Jamaica, but stretched it to about 10 meters in the final straight to finish in 3:20.04.

"It blows my mind," said Okolo, an Olympics rookie. "The first Olympics I watched, in 2008, (Felix) was on the team and they won gold. Now I'm here, this is all dreams becoming reality. It's just a blessing to be here being part of this team."

Jamaica took silver, and Great Britain bronze.

For the U.S. track team this win closes out a strong performance on the Olympic track in Rio: 31 medals — 13 gold, 10 silver and eight bronze.

"I won't use the word responsibility but there has been a conversation about being a part of Team USA, that we're expected to come back with most medals, expected to medal in almost every event because we are the toughest team to make in the world," Hastings said. "There's definitely that expectation that we need to perform well and that we need to send out a statement to the rest of the world. It's a sense of added pressure, but at this level you have to manage it."

They certainly managed it.

TRACK AND FIELD AT THE RIO OLYMPICS