What A Finish

The relay was not. On the second leg Felix ripped from third place to first, en route to a 48.55-second split, the fastest of any runner in the event. Monique Henderson was passed on the third leg by Russia's Tatyana Firova, but Richards, in the midst of a 48.93 split (second-fastest in the relay) drove past Russian anchor Anastasiya Kapachinskaya in a brave last 30 meters. "With 120 to go, I knew I could get her," said Richards. She hit the line biting her lower lip in pain and pumped the baton with her right hand, emblematic of her effort and emotion. And with the abiding knowledge that 2012 is a lifetime away.