4x400m relay gold caps record British medal haul
GREAT BRITAIN’S women claimed a thrilling gold in the 4x400m relay to hand the team a record-breaking nine-medal haul at the World Indoor Championship in Istanbul yesterday.
Perri Shakes-Drayton took the glory, pipping United States rival Sanya Richards-Ross on the final leg as the British quartet set a new world-leading time of three minutes, 28.76 seconds. But it was Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu who made the biggest impact, dragging Britain from third to first place on the penultimate leg of a gripping contest.
The men’s 4x400m line-up won silver, while bronze medals from long-jumper Shara Proctor, 800m runner Andrew Osagie and pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale took the team’s total to nine medals, two more than their previous best in 2003.
Distance king Mo Farah thought he had won bronze in the 3,000m after Edwin Soi was disqualified, only to be reinstated again, relegating Farah back to fourth place.
Britain’s success came as sprinter Dwain Chambers prepares to learn his London 2012 fate today. The British Olympic Association has asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to uphold its right to omit athletes guilty of a serious doping offence.