Olympics: Poland makes history at first-ever 4x400m race

 which was the first time that the race appeared as an

game,

Dominican Republic

picked up silver and the United States took bronze.

The four teammates secured their first Olympic medal as anchor leg runner

Duszynski

crossed the finish line in a time of three minutes and 9.87 seconds.

"

I can't believe it. It is a dream since childhood. It has come true,

" Duszynski, 26, said after picking up Poland's first gold medal of the Tokyo Games.

After winning the event at the 2019 World Championships, the

U.S. team

was the favorite. However, they almost did not make the final after they were disqualified for exchanging the baton outside the changeover zone in Friday's first round.

The U.S team had six-time Olympic gold winner,

Allyson Felix

, who was a part of the Americans' winning relay team in 2019, absent.

Since there are no gender rules governing the order in which athletes choose to race, the event, featuring two men and two women, contains a certain level of unpredictability.

Poland opted to place its two women competitors in the middle legs of Saturday's race, as did the other eight teams.

The Polish racers had experimented with its lineup in the Doha title race, placing men in the first two legs, but they finished fifth.

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