U.S. Favorite Allyson Felix Clinches the Gold in 200m Final

The U.S. also won gold and silver in the 110m hurdles

America's Allyson Felix has finally reversed her second-place fate, beating Jamaica's superstar sprinter in the 200 meters Wednesday night, for the gold.

Felix, a three-time world champion who has only won silvers on the Olympic track, comfortably beat Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce with a time of 21.88 seconds.

Felix adds this accolade to her 4x400 gold medal from Beijing, where she also won silver in the 200m as she did in Athens four years before.

Fraser-Pryce, the two time Olympic 100m champion took second in 22.09, and was the only non-American to place in the top five.

"I don't think you could ever put eight ladies like that again in a race," Fraser-Pryce told The Associated Press. "I would never run."

USA's Carmelita Jeter, who recently took silver in the 100m, placed third in 22.14. Two-time Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown placed fourth with a time of 22.38 and 400m champion Sanya Richards-Ross ran the race in 22.39, landing in fifth.

"She's had a very good season and definitely deserves this moment," Richards-Ross told The Associated Press of her teammate Felix. "She's just like me—she's wanted this for a very long time."

In the final round of the men's 110m hurldes, American Aries Merritt won gold in the 110m hurdles. American Jason Richardson took the silver and Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment took bronze. Defending champion and world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba began limping early and stopped racing after clearing the sixth hurdle.

The men's 200m gold medal showdown is slated for tomorrow when Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake will go head-to-head in the highly anticipated race. They both cruised into the gold medal round after finishing their respective semifinal heats strides ahead of their competition Wednesday.

Blake immediately burst to the front of his heat and increased his lead over the course of the race, finishing in 20.01 seconds. Bolt, who holds both the world (19.19 seconds) and Olympic record (19.30) in the 200m, pushed himself until the straightaway and then coasted home with a time of 20.18. USA's Wallace Spearmon scored the second best time in the semifinals, pushing himself to a 20.02 just behind Blake, and earning himself a place on Thursday's gold medal starting line.

In 400m hurdles, American Lashinda Demus won the silver with a time of 52.77, a fraction of a second behind Russia's Natalya Antyukh, who ran the race in 52.70. The Czech Republic's Zuzana Hejnova took the bronze. Americans Georganne Moline and T'Erea Brown came in fifth and sixth respectively.

Meanwhile, Ashton Eaton continues his fight to defend his world record decathlon score of 9,039 points. He placed first Wednesday in both the 100m sprint and the long jump, and second in the high jump, extending his lead after four events to 161 points over his teammate Trey Hardee. The pair could notch the United States' first 1-2 decathlon finish since Milton Gray Campbell and Rafer Johnson in 1956, according to the AP. Thursday they compete in the final half of the ten decathlon events.

The day's events unfolded on the heels of an historical moment that brought hundreds to their feet at Olympic Stadium Wednesday morning. Sarah Attar, the first woman to represent Saudi Arabia in Olympic track and field, competed in the 800m.

The beaming 19-year-old ran in a track suit and head-covering and finished last with a time of 2 minutes, 44.95 seconds.

"For women in Saudi Arabia, I think this can really spark something to get more involved in sports, to become more athletic," the California native with duel citizenship told the AP. "Maybe in the next Olympics, we an have a very strong team to come."

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