The winning 4x100m team at the IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014 (© Getty Images)
For just over three quarters of the women’s sprint relay, it was a neck-and-neck affair between the Americas team and the all-British Europe quartet.
In fact, a fine bend by Anyika Onuora gave Desiree Henry and Europe a slight chink of a lead going into the final leg. But then Veronica Campbell-Brown got the baton for Americas and proceeded to show why she has the pedigree of a three-time Olympic gold medallist.
The 32-year-old Jamaican burned off Henry, the 19-year-old Briton who won the 2011 world youth 200m title, with a scintillating final 70m.
The Americas team – Tianna Bartoletta, Michelle-Lee Ahye, Samantha Henry-Robinson and Campbell-Brown – finished more than half a second clear in 42.44.
The all-Brit Europeans – Asha Philip, Ashleigh Nelson, Onuora and Henry – were themselves well clear in second place, clocking 42.98.
Asia-Pacific claimed third place in 45.40, while the African quartet suffered a disqualification owing to passing the baton outside the changeover area between the last two runners.
Simon Turnbull for the IAAF
