Allyson Felix is gold again in women's 4x400 relay

Courtney Okolo, Natasha Hastings, Phyllis Francis and Allyson Felix pose with their national flags after winning the gold. (REUTERS)

RIO DE JANEIRO – One night after becoming the first woman in track and field history to win five gold medals, Allyson Felix added to her collection.

America’s most beloved female sprinter claimed her sixth career gold by helping lead the women’s 4×400-meter relay to victory.

Felix’s six golds is second among U.S. women behind only swimmer Jenny Thompson’s eight gold medals.

A gold medal in the 4×400 seemed like a strong possibility for the U.S. women after Friday’s prelim when they breezed to the fastest qualifying time without using Felix or fellow veteran Natasha Hastings. The two Olympic 400 meters finalists joined Courtney Okolo and Phyllis Francis in the U.S. lineup for Saturday’s final, with Hastings running the second leg and Felix taking anchor.

The U.S. quartet won the relay from Lane 6 in a time of 3:19.06. Jamaica was 1.3 seconds behind to take silver and Great Britain won bronze with a time of 3:25.88.

The Olympic gold medal was the U.S.’s sixth straight in the event. Russia had finished second the previous three Olympics, but it was forbidden from competing in Rio due to past doping issues.

Felix, 30, has not yet announced whether she will try to make a fourth Olympic team in 2020. But if this was her final Olympic race, it’s fitting that she went out a champion.