With one event remaining in track and field competition, the men's
marathon:
-Team USA is on top of the medal charts, with 23 medals overall,
including seven gold, nine silver and seven bronze. The U.S. leads for
total medals as well as number of gold.
-The next-best country, Russia, has 18 medals and six gold. Jamaica has
11 medals, 6 gold.
-The 23 medals won by the team matches the medal tally won in Atlanta in
1996 and exceeds the 17 won in Sydney.
-The U.S. women have won nine medals to post their best medal tally
since 1992, when they won 10. In 1996, they won 7; in 2000 they won 4;
in 2004 they won 6.
-The three golds won by the U.S. women matches their total in 1996 and
exceeds 2000 (2) and 2004 (2).
-The nine medals won by the women matches the third-highest Olympic
medal total in history for a U.S. women's team. They won 16 in the
boycott-affected 1984 and 10 in 1992, when Eastern European countries
had been weakened by the fall of communism. They also won nine in 1932
and 1988.
Day 9Team USA quotes - Evening session
Women's 4x400m final
Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati, Ohio): "I felt really good. Our goal was to
come together as a team, and for me to run the first leg, get our team
out there and pass the baton to Allyson. We're happy, we're excited and
we're gold medalists. I wasn't nervous at all because I knew Sanya would
run a really strong leg for us. She passed the Russian and she kept her
composure."
Monique Henderson (Chula Vista, Calif.): "It's an amazing feeling to win
a gold medal. It was really touch-and-go there for a while. Thankfully,
Sanya ran a great anchor leg and brought us back to win the gold."
"Allyson gave me a great lead and I was out there to hold it. I held
them off the best I could, but unfortunately the Russian girl went by me
at the end. It was great to see us be able to come back and pull out the
win."
Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita, Calif.): "We wanted it to end on a high
note. We've had our ups and downs. We came out with a new attitude
tonight - men and women - and it worked out. We had confidence in
Sanya."
Men's 4X400m final
David Neville (Valencia, Calif.): "I feel pretty good. It's been a long
Olympics and I ran a lot of races, but we did well. I came out and did
my job in the relay. I had three other great guys to run with, and we
have the Olympic record. I wasn't trying to relax at all because our
goal was to win the gold and run the best we could. That's exactly what
we did."
Angelo Taylor (Decatur, Ga.): "It feels great to win my second gold
medal. I couldn't be any happier. It doesn't get any sweeter than this -
I'm overjoyed. We definitely went out there to break the World record.
We still came away with the Olympic record and the win, so we're real
pleased with that."
"Everyone ran a great leg. LaShawn gave me a comfortable lead and I just
tried to open it up even more. We have the best 400 runners in the World
in the U.S. and we proved it again tonight. It's a great combination."
LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.): "We have four of the top quarter-milers
in the world. We swept the 400 and we swept the 400m hurdles. I told
Neville that all he had to do was run his race. This was our first
championship with him on a major level. My first Games with two gold
medals, a PR and an Olympic record. You couldn't ask for anything better
than that."
"I wanted to run well for the U.S., and we ended it with an Olympic
record. I came into the Games with something I wanted to do. I did what
I came to do. It's the Olympic Games. You have to show up. If you don't
show up all year, this is the time to do it. I showed up and I was
victorious."
Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Texas): "This is great. Coming into the relay, we
all came together and wanted to run as a team. We all ran our hardest
and ended up getting an Olympic record. A lot of things happened in this
Olympics that we weren't expecting. We use that to build on."
"This was a great way to finish the Olympics. It could have been a World
record with a close race, but we all ran comfortable out there."
Women's high jump final
Chaunte Howard (Snellville, Ga.): "I think that there's more to the
Olympics than just winning medals. I think it's about friendship,
working hard and doing your best. That's what I came out here to do
today."
Men's 5,000m final
Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.): "They ran a tough race today. My body
didn't respond. I went there with one mindset. I wanted to stay up with
the leaders. But I couldn't go. I got slower and slower. I developed a
virus infection in my throat. During the race, my throat was burning
like crazy."
Matt Tegenkamp (Madison, Wisc.): "I just didn't have it tonight. I have
a lot of work to do and I know I need to get stronger. I need to figure
out how to stay relaxed and stay with the leaders in the most important
part of the race."
Women's 1,500m final
Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco): "It's hard to explain, but sometimes
when you want to go, it's just not there. I tried to stay with them as
much as I could. I was trying to go with them, but I didn't have my legs
today."
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