Five athletes with very different tales to tell joined forces for Olympic bronze in the mixed 4x400m relay.

Sam Reardon, Laviai Nielsen, Alex Haydock-Wilson and Amber Anning ran their way into the history books and secured Team GB’s first athletics medal in the second track final at Paris 2024.

With Nicole Yeargin running the anchor leg in the heat, GB laid down a statement of intent with a national record of 3:11.06 – quicker than the mark set in winning silver at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

With Anning stepping in for the final, the quartet delivered a powerful performance to net GB’s first podium finish in the second Olympic edition of the crowd-pleasing event.

Just watch this 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 finish in the 4x400m relay 🤯

Femke Bol came back from 4th place + a 10m deficit to beat the USA and win GOLD! 🥇🇳🇱#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/62Iya4IkAh

— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 3, 2024

“I saw Nicole in the crowd and the first thing I said to her is that you are an Olympic bronze medallist,” said Nielsen.

“She’s a big part of this team, Amber is one of our strongest legs but without Nicole, we wouldn’t be here. So shout out to her as well.”

This was a huge step forward for the group, guided by Martyn Rooney, after a sixth-place finish at Tokyo 2020.

The bronze medal-winning time of 3:08.01, broadcast live on Discovery+, was another big national record and only 0.6 short of the world record set by eventual silver medallists USA in the heats.

Reardon set the tone by splitting 45 flat and dedicated the medal to his mum, his ‘biggest supporter’, who passed away in 2019.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Reardon. “We came here wanting to get a medal and that is exactly what we did. I’m over the moon for all of us.”

Frame it 🖼#WhereItStarts | #Paris2024 #Athletics pic.twitter.com/8rDkFd9tyD

— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) August 3, 2024

Nielsen was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis just before her Olympic debut in Tokyo and, having split 49.80, is now an Olympic bronze medallist and the backbone of the relay squad.

“We’ve done a lot of practices together, we’ve done a lot as a whole entire squad with men and women,” said Nielsen. “I have so much faith in this team.”

Haydock-Wilson came into the final desperate to prove himself and did more than that with a stunning 44.40 split to consolidate a medal position.

“We were running to make a statement,” said Haydock-Wilson.

“I was like, ‘well, we’re in an Olympic final. I didn’t come here not to take a risk. And the risk paid off. And I had Amber here to carry us over the finish line.”

Anning has competed more than perhaps any other athlete on the British team in a brilliant NCAA and outdoor season. She was indeed there to anchor GB to victory and despite being run down by the other-worldly Femke Bol of the Netherlands, her 48.81 split was the second-best ever by a British women.

“I saw my teammates in front of me so I wanted to keep pushing but I knew Femke was coming,” said Anning.

“I just didn’t want to let off, they had done the job but I just had to finish it off. I wanted a medal and I was just doing my part in getting there.

“The atmosphere was unreal, the crowd was so electric out there. I’ve got a great team out there and all I could do was finish what they had started.”

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Watch every moment of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games athletics competitions on Discovery+ and BBC Sport.