Waubonsie Valley alum Morolake Akinosun’s dream of achieving gold at the Olympics came full circle on Saturday when the track star received her gold medal on the podium at Olympic Stadium in Rio.
The U.S. Women’s 4×100-meter relay track team finished in first place on Friday night with a time of :41.01. As scheduled, Akinosun did not race in the final, and was replaced by Tori Bowie.
Just the day before, controversy struck the 4×100-meter preliminary when the United States was disqualified, due to a failed baton exchange midway through the race. However, after an appeal by the U.S., it was determined that a Brazilian racer interfered with America’s Allyson Felix during the baton exchange, giving the U.S. another chance to qualify later that night. In a race that showcased only the U.S. team, Tianna Bartoletta, Felix, English Gardner and Akinosun qualified with a time of :41.77, the best of all teams that qualified for the 4×100-meter finals.
Watch the United States in the 4×100-meter qualifying race.
It was the second gold medal for Indian Prairie School District 204 in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Earlier, Neuqua Valley alum Kevin Cordes won gold for his part in the men’s 200-meter butterfly preliminary qualifier.