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• Jamaica's quartet suffer mishap in women's 4x400m relay final as USA, Netherlands, Great Britain cop medals

  So it was in the beginning, so it is at the end.

  Jamaica’s bad luck at the Paris Olympic Games, particularly on the female side, again reared its ugly head as the country’s quartet suffered a mishap in the 4x400m relay final and failed to finish at the Stade de France on Saturday.

  With Shanieka Ricketts’ silver medal in the triple jump being the only medal won by a female athlete among Jamaica's six medals tallied ahead of the much-anticipated curtain call relays, the quartet of Stacey-Ann Williams, Andrenette Knight, Shiann Salmon, and Stephanie Ann McPherson would have hoped to end the athletics segment on a high.

  However, it was not to be, as Knight, while in second position on the second leg, had the baton knocked from her hand by an Irish athlete, and as the instrument clattered on the track, so did the country’s hopes of a medal.

  McPherson shared the team's disappointment.

  "I don't know what happened; I watched the replay three times before I realised what happened, but it was like World Relays all over again. So, of course, we are disappointed. We all trained really hard for this," an emotional McPherson said, her eyes filled with tears.

  Salmon tried to put on a brave face.

  "My face might not be showing it but I am very heartbroken. The aim was to finish on the podium, and I am sure that everybody is disheartened that we didn't even get to finish the race, but sometimes things happen that we have no control over, and we have to just move on from them. The overall (Olympic) experience for me was excellent; I can't complain about it. I got two lifetime bests in this championship, and I thank God I finished healthy, so I am just looking forward to the rest of the season," Salmon shared. 

  The event was won by the United States with an Area Record of 3:15.27, just shy of the longstanding 3:15.17 World Record. The Netherlands, through a blistering anchor leg from Femke Bol, took second in a National Record of 3:19.50, while Great Britain also clocked a National Record of 3:19.72 for third.

  While the disappointment of a majority of Jamaica’s athletes and fans alike will be profound, after the legendary Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson suffered injuries ahead of their events and Ackera Nugent clipped a few obstacles, which ruined her chance at a medal in the women's 100m hurdles final, among other misfortunes, the country still had much to celebrate.

  Rajindra Campbell won an historic bronze in the men’s shot put; Kishane Thompson copped silver in the men’s 100m; Wayne Pinnock was also a silver medallist in the long jump; and Rasheed Broadbell won bronze in the men’s 110m hurdles.

  But the biggest accomplishment of the Games came for discus thrower Roje Stona, who achieved an Olympic record to land Jamaica’s solitary gold medal on his debut at the global multi-sport showpiece.

• Brazil 0-1 United States: Swanson fires Stars and Stripes to record-extending fifth Olympic gold

  Mallory Swanson marked her 100th cap with the winning goal as the United States defeated Brazil 1-0 to win a record-extending fifth Olympic gold medal in women's football.

  Two-time runners-up Brazil were seeking their first gold and thought they had taken the lead early on at the Parc des Princes, only for Ludmila's strike to be rightly ruled out for offside.

  Swanson used her pace to break clear soon after but was unable to get the better of Lorena, with neither side truly going close to finding a breakthrough in the first half.

  The Selecao suffered a blow early in the second period when Vitoria Yaya was forced off the field on a stretcher and their outing soon got worse when Swanson fired home.

  Chicago Red Stars forward Swanson held her line well, latched on to Korbin Albert's throughball and calmly slotted past Lorena with 57 minutes on the clock in Paris.

  Brazil could have taken a game of few clear-cut chances to extra-time, but an unmarked Adriana saw her header kept out by Alyssa Naeher in stoppage time as Emma Hayes' team claimed gold.

  Data Debrief: Swanson the golden girl for USA

  Swanson was denied a dramatic goal on her 99th cap for the USA in their 1-0 extra-time win over Mexico in the semis, but she marked her century in the perfect manner as she scored for the fourth time this tournament.

  The 26-year-old is the 44th player in USWNT history to reach that milestone and is the youngest since Amy Rodriguez (25) did so in 2012.

  The USA's fifth Olympic gold, coming 12 years after their last success in London, takes them four clear of Germany, Canada and Norway as comfortably the most successful side in the competition.

• Former Antiguan youth star Rai Benjamin cops 400m hurdles gold for USA; BVI's McMaster fifth, Ja's Clarke fails to finish

  A mostly disappointing day for the Caribbean ended in more disappointment at the Paris Olympic Games as Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke and Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands had tough outings in the men’s 400m finals at Stade de France on Friday.

  McMaster, who has endured a topsy-turvy season, placed fifth in a season’s best 47.79s, while Clarke, who was up with the front runners at one point, lost his form, clipped obstacles in the closing stages, and failed to finish.

  Still, there was some Caribbean connection on the podium, as American gold medal winner Rai Benjamin is the son of former West Indies stalwart Winston Benjamin. The younger Benjamin, who represented Antigua and Barbuda at the youth level, won in a season’s best 46.46s.

  He upstaged Norwegian World Record holder Karsten Warholm (47.06s), while Brazil’s Alison dos Santos (47.26s) closed fast to claim bronze.