Usain Bolt anchored Jamaica to the men's 4x100m relay gold in Beijing on 29 August 2015. It was his eleventh world title. It also gave him a third straight sprint triple at a Worlds.
A sloppy race, a clean win
The Jamaican team was Nesta Carter, Asafa Powell, Nickel Ashmeade and Bolt. Their first two handoffs were ragged. Powell even bumped into Ashmeade on the second one.
The United States had looked in charge. Then their last handoff fell apart. Mike Rodgers set off too early, slowed to a jog, and took the baton outside the legal zone.
That mistake cost the Americans the race. Ashmeade passed the stick cleanly to Bolt. Bolt was already clear by 0.41 seconds when the disqualification became official.
Bolt drove through the line in a world-leading 37.36. He dipped late, chasing Jamaica's own world record of 36.84. China took silver in 38.01, and Canada took bronze in 38.13.
Eleven golds and a fourth relay in a row
The relay ended a rich meet for Bolt. He had beaten Justin Gatlin by 0.01 seconds in the 100m. He had also won a fourth straight 200m title.
“I saw the mess after 300 metres and was happy we were not in it,” Bolt told reporters afterwards. The relay was his fourth in a row with Jamaica. The streak began back in 2009.
The win pushed his tally past the eight he once shared with Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson and Allyson Felix. He had come to Beijing after an injured season. He left it with the full set again.
