TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. men’s 4×400 relay team qualified for Sunday night’s final after winning a one-on-one showdown against Kenya to kick off the last day at world championships.
The teams were given a chance to head back to the track after getting involved in a tangle with Zambian runners during an exchange in the qualifying race the night before.
After reviewing the replay, track officials decided to place the same runners in the same lanes as the night before for the re-race, with the winner getting the ninth spot in what is normally an eight-team final.
The U.S., which has won this race at nine of the last 10 worlds, will run the final out of Lane 1, normally a bad draw for any race. Botswana, with 400-meter champion Collen Kebinatshipi and bronze medalist Bayapo Ndori, is the favorite in the race. America’s only finalist in the 400 was Jacory Patterson, who finished eighth.
Before the U.S. win in the re-run, the South African men’s 4×100 team also got a second chance after their own protest. In that scenario, the team was placed on the track alone to run the single lap, needing to beat 38.34 seconds to qualify for the final.
The South Africans came up .3 seconds short, meaning there will be only eight teams in that final. Not among them will be Jamaica, which didn’t finish qualifying after Ryiem Forde and 100-meter silver medalist Kishane Thompson failed to connect on the final baton pass.
Re-runs like this are not unheard of. In 2016, the U.S. women’s 4×100 team led by Allyson Felix won the gold medal after the day after winning a protest in a race in which Felix got bumped and dropped the baton.
In Sunday night’s finals, double sprint winner is expected to team with Sha’Carri Richardson in the women’s final, while 200 champion is expected to headline the men’s team.
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