Dina Asher-Smith completed her Olympic comeback with 4×100 metres relay bronze in Tokyo.
The 200m world champion ran the third leg as the British women clocked 41.88 seconds at the Olympic Stadium behind Jamaica and the USA.
Asha Philip and Daryll Neita add to the relay bronze they won in Rio while Imani-Lara Lansiquot claims her first Olympic medal.
It's bronze for #TeamGB @MissAshaPhilip, @ImaniLara, @dinaashersmith, and @daryllneita secure bronze in the 4x100m relay. 🥉#Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/TFfWioCmt5 — Team GB (@TeamGB) August 6, 2021
More was expected of the squad but their baton changes let them down and they barely celebrated third.
Asher-Smith’s individual Olympic dreams were wrecked by a hamstring injury she suffered at the British trials in June.
She failed to reach the 100m final after running a time of 11.05secs – well below her 10.83s personal best – and then pulled out of the 200m.
The 25-year-old returned on Thursday to help the squad reach the final, qualifying fastest in a new national record of 41.55s.
Philip told the BBC: “I know our changeover wasn’t the best but we really worked hard as a team. It wasn’t our best run or a clear run but we got a medal and that’s what counts.”
Lansiquot added: “I’m very sorry to my granny and my dad, everyone watching probably had a heart attack.
“These things do happen. The most important thing is we had the trust and the chemistry within ourselves. We knew we were going to get it round and were going to get a medal.”
Asher-Smith said: “I saw quite a few people and was like ‘time to move’ but I’m one of the best bend runners in the world so quite frankly it was something I take quite naturally, just lean into the bend and make sure I come into Daryll like a train.”
The British men’s 4x100m team claimed silver after being beaten on the line by Italy. CJ Ujah, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake ran 37.51 seconds to be beaten to gold by 0.01 seconds.
Kilty told the BBC: “After the heat we knew we had to pull it out, we had to give it everything. We were prepared to die and that’s what we said. We’re Olympic silver medallists, what more can we ask for?
“Last Olympics we finished fifth and we knew we were coming out here with no less than a medal.
“We went to win it, we were unlucky but this is unity, this is a team and we were in it together and we absolutely pulled it out as a quartet. In 20 years’ time when we’re old and retired we’ll look back at this night as one of the best of our lives.”
Mitchell-Blake, whose disappointment was obvious as soon as he crossed the line, said: “Apologies if I seemed ungrateful at first, it’s just that we put a lot of work and effort into this and we truly believe that we’re the best quartet in the world and we want to display that when the time comes.”
Kilty then added: “This man ran an amazing leg. He looked a bit disappointed but this is a team. He’s been part of the top three fastest teams that we’ve ever had in British history. This man’s a legend and he brought us home in incredible style.”
The silver and bronze were added to Team GB’s athletics medal total after Laura Muir won silver in the 1500m earlier on Friday night following Holly Bradshaw’s pole vault bronze and Keely Hodgkinson’s 800m silver in the week.
