4 × 400 metres Relay, Women

The United States had won this title at the last four Olympic Games and was expected to do so again. They were led by Sanya Richards-Ross, the individual 400 champion, DeeDee Trotter, the bronze medalist in the 400, along with Allyson Felix, the open 200 champion, but one who often ran the 400 metres in invitational meets, and had attempted a 200/400 double at the 2011 World Championships. No other team was given much of a chance for gold.

In the end it was more a coronation than a real race. Trotter gave the USA a nice lead on the opener, posting 50.2, with Russia’s Yuliya Gushchina second at 51.0. Felix then ended any suspense with 48.2 on the second leg, the fastest of the race, as Russia trailed by more than two seconds. Francena McCorory had the third leg for the Americans and opened the lead further, giving Sanya Richards-Ross what amounted to a victory lap. She brought it home in 49.10 for a final time of 3:16.87, equal to the fifth fastest time ever. Russia trailed almost four seconds back for silver, with Ukraine getting bronze. Richards-Ross won her second gold medal of the London Olympics, while Felix won her third, including the 4×100 relay the day before. Richards-Ross also won her third consecutive gold medal in the event, emulating Frank Wykoff, who won three relay gold medals for the United States in the 4×100 in 1928-36.

That was how the event and the results seemed to have ended. In 2015, however, the IOC began re-testing samples from the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, using newer, more advanced testing techniques, in an effort to find those who had used performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), but in whom it could not be detected at the time of those Olympics. This was one of the many events affected.

In February 2017, Antonina Krivoshapka was revealed to have tested positive for turinabol (dehydrochloromethyltestosterone). Her disqualification led to the Russian relay team losing the silver medal. Jamaica was advanced to the silver medal, and Ukraine received the bronze medal. In early October 2017, another Russian team member, Yuliya Gushchina, also had a re-test positive (substance not announced), and in February 2019, Tatyana Firova was also disqualified for an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV).