Olympics Rio 2016: US win women's 4x100m relay, fifth gold for Allyson Felix

The US team of Tianna Bartoletta, Felix, English Gardner and Tori Bowie clocked 41.01 seconds, the second-fastest time ever after the world record they set in London four years ago, to beat Jamaica on 41.36 and Britain on 41.77.

The Americans had taken the hard route to the final, nearly missing out on a place after Felix dropped the baton when handing over to Gardner in their heat on Thursday morning.

But they appealed successfully, arguing that Felix had been impeded by a Brazilian runner, and went through at China's expense after being allowed to race by themselves in a solo heat in the evening.

They made no mistake on Friday, unperturbed by pre-race jeers from the crowd.

"The journey to this point has been tumultuous. It's special," Bartoletta said.

Jamaica's Elaine Thompson, running the second leg after Christania Williams before handing over to Veronica Campbell-Brown and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, narrowly missed out on a Usain Bolt-style sprint treble after her victories in the 100m and 200m.

"Wonderful experience. My first Olympics. Two golds, a silver, I can't complain," she said.

The British team of Asha Philip, Desiree Henry, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita came third to take their country's first medal in this event since 1984.

Philip, 25, said: "We came here to get a medal and we delivered. We had a lot of pressure to get this, but we had so much trust and faith in these girls."

Neita, the youngest of the group at 19, said: "I am speechless. I am so proud of our team. We absolutely smashed it."

Asher-Smith, 20, said: "We have worked unbelievably hard. Out of all the teams I think we worked the hardest. This is for the entire nation."

And 20-year-old Henry said: "I cannot believe it. This was my first Olympics and I wanted to go out and enjoy it but also to get a medal. To do it I had tears in my eyes. Thank you to everyone who has made this happen."