Canada's Andre De Grasse, left to right, Brendon Rodney and Aaron Brown watch the scoreboard following the men's 4x100-metre relay final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 19, 2016.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
They didn't get to do a lap around Estádio Olímpico, as most medal winners do, but Canada's relay sprinters got some hardware in Brazil, and that was more important.
"We definitely wish we could have had a victory lap," sprinter Andre De Grasse said after the squad claimed the bronze medal in a thrilling finish to the 4x100 relay final that saw the United States disqualified, putting Canada on the podium.
Initially the Canadian team thought it placed fourth. De Grasse, running the anchor leg, finished just a few hundredths of a second behind American Trayvon Bromell, who lunged at the finish, then tumbled several metres after crossing the line. But less than five minutes later, with the track cleared, the U.S. team was flagged for a violation on its first exchange, meaning Canada had secured the bronze.
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The Canadian team didn't get the news until they were in the middle of a television interview, talking about missing the podium despite breaking the Canadian record.
"We were looking at the race on the video and talking about getting fourth, with a national record," sprinter Aaron Brown said. "Then it turned out we got a bronze, so it changed our reaction a lot."
Teammate Akeem Haynes agreed: "As long as we got the medal, that's all that matters," he said.
Jamaica – anchored by the aging, yet seemingly ageless Usain Bolt, and backed by Olympic medalists Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, and newcomer Nickel Ashmeade – secured their third straight Olympic gold medal in the event.
The Jamaicans won the relay in a time of 37.27 seconds. Japan claimed silver in 37.60, while Canada took the bronze in 37.64.
The Canadian time broke the record set in 1996 by the relay team that won gold at the Atlanta Olympics. Glenroy Gilbert, who was on that team, and is now a coach of the current squad, said this race was one of the strongest 4x100s Canada has run.
"This is obviously one of the best runs for our guys," Gilbert said. "It's a Canadian record and they did it. And it's amazing, because the final was just incredible, a lot of really good teams."
Canada was off the podium heading into the last exchange. De Grasse, who said he felt fatigued heading in, figured he was "four or five metres" behind when he started his anchor leg. Known as a strong finisher, De Grasse made up ground, and lamented that if he had a few more metres of runway he might have been able to catch the Japanese team for silver.
It is the third medal for De Grasse in Rio, in addition to the bronze medal he won in the 100-metres, and the silver medal he claimed in the 200-metres.
"It's an incredible feeling, I came into these Olympics saying I wanted to win three Olympic medals, and I've done that. It's a dream come true for me and now, for next time around, I just want to upgrade those medals," De Grasse said.
"I think I learned a lot about myself technically, because if I can just develop a better start… if I can just work on my first 30 [metres] out of those blocks, I think it's a whole different race for me."
He became the first Canadian to claim three track medals at one Olympics since Alex Wilson and Phil Edwards in 1932.
With one of the youngest men's relay teams on the track, Canada was looking to make the podium in any form.
The bronze medal was a return to form after several Olympic disappointments in the men's relay. Since winning the event in 1996, Canada failed to make the finals in 2000 and 2004, and finishing 6th in Beijing in 2008. In 2012, Canada seemed to be on its way to reversing that trend in London, placing third in the relay, only to be disqualified when Jared Connaughton, running third, stepped on a line. This time around, the goal was to run a clean race.
"It means a lot. We were able to come back and get redemption for that 2012 team," Brown said. "It was kind of in the back of my mind that I wanted to get this medal back for them."
With Jamaica's victory, Bolt completes a remarkable Olympic triple-triple, winning gold in each of the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100 relay at the last three Olympics. Among the many records Bolt has accumulated over the past eight years, that feat will be among the most difficult for other sprinters to duplicate, since it requires the kind of longevity few outside the 29-year-old Bolt can sustain.
The night before the relay, after winning gold in the 200 metres, Bolt said he was preparing for Rio to be his last Olympics, in part because he's won so much.
"I can't prove anything else," Bolt said. "There's nothing else I can do, really. For me, I've proven to the world that I'm the greatest. This is why I said this is my last Olympics. I can't prove anything else."
With an average age of 23.25, Canada was tied with Brazil for the second youngest relay team. At 24, Haynes, Brown and Brendon Rodney were the veterans on the squad, while De Grasse is 21.
The U.S., with 34-year-olds Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin, were the oldest with an average age of 30, followed by Jamaica, at 28.5. Japan was the youngest team with an average age of 23.
Earlier in the night, the Canadian women's relay team placed 7th in the final. The squad, with Farah Jacques, Crystal Emmanuel, and Phylicia George handing off to anchor Khamica Bingham, were not expected to medal.
The United States won gold in the women's relay in a time of 41.01 seconds, followed by Jamaica for the silver in 41.36, while Great Britain claimed bronze in 41.77.
Grant Robertson