LONDON – No more heartbreak for Allyson Felix. No more silver, either.

Denied twice on the world’s biggest stage, Felix won the Olympic gold medal she’s been yearning for, taking the 200 meters Wednesday night to fill the last, and biggest, hole in her otherwise stellar resume.

Felix won in 21.88 seconds, topping Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, who won the 100 four nights earlier, by .21 seconds. Carmelita Jeter of the U.S. added bronze to go with her silver in the 100.

“I think it was all for a reason,” Felix said. “It kept me motivated and it made this moment very special. It was a big weight being lifted.”

She won easily, leaving nothing to chance as she hugged the line around the curve, then burst ahead of Fraser-Pryce with 40 meters to go.

Finishing fourth was Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica, who defeated Felix in the Athens and Beijing Games, and was trying to become the first woman to win the same individual track and field event in three consecutive Olympics.

Instead the Americans were the ones celebrating: Felix, followed quickly by Aries Merritt in the 110 hurdles and Brittney Reese in the long jump.

“We are always aware of what the medal count is,” said Jason Richardson, who finished second to Merritt in the hurdles as part of a seven-medal day at the track for the United States.

Reese, a two-time world champion, became only the second American woman to win the long jump at the Olympics, leaping 23 feet, 4½ inches on her second attempt. Jackie Joyner-Kersee gave the U.S. its other gold in 1988. Janay Deloach added a bronze.

“(Felix has) been trying very hard for this moment,” said Jeter, who became the first U.S. woman to medal in both sprints since Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. “When I gave her a hug, that’s exactly what I told her: ‘You’ve waited for this moment.’ “

Twice before, Felix came into the Olympics on even footing, or even a slight favorite, against Campbell-Brown. Both times Felix ended up disappointed, and the last time in Beijing, choking back tears, she called it “deja vu, and not in a good way.”

This time there would be no regrets, and nobody can say Felix didn’t earn it.

Also in the race were the Olympic champions at 100 (Fraser-Pryce) and 400 (Sanya Richards-Ross), the two-time defending Olympic champion at 200 (Campbell-Brown) and the reigning world champion at 100 meters (Jeter).

“I don’t think you could ever put eight ladies like that again in a race,” Fraser-Pryce said. “I would never run.”

Had this race been only 140 meters, Fraser-Pryce would have another gold. But Felix has another gear in the 200, and she quickly made up her deficit and then pulled away. When she crossed the line, her reaction was calm. A big smile. Arms raised. Not much else.

“I knew if I ran my race, it would come together,” Felix said.

Felix adds this gold to the two individual silvers and one 1,600 relay gold from 2008.

At 26, she has seven Olympic and world championship medals at the distance, four of them gold.

Richards-Ross, who finished fifth, said Felix “definitely deserves this moment. She’s wanted this for a very long time.”

Before she won, Jamaica had won seven of the last eight Olympic sprints, including relays.

Next up, Usain Bolt.

The 100-meter champion made it easily through his 200-meter semifinal, grabbing a big lead, letting it slip away, then pulling away again, to set up a chance to become the first man to win both sprints in successive Olympics.

His training partner, Yohan Blake, will be there, as will American Wallace Spearmon, who finished third in 2008 but had the medal taken after officials ruled he ran outside his lane.

Are Bolt and Blake beatable?

“Yeah, man,” Spearmon said. “That’s why we’re racing. If they weren’t beatable, they would just hand them medals and we’d race for third.”

Felix will receive her first-place prize Thursday at a ceremony shortly before the men’s 200, and then she’ll prepare for the relays, where she could have a spot in both the long and short races.

Yes, there could be more medals in her future. But none as precious as the 200 gold.

“It’s crazy,” she said. “I remember just coming over here in tears in Beijing. Gosh, just completely opposite tonight. For all of it to come together is just extremely special and I’m overjoyed.”

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: The U.S., the defending Olympic champion, lost 28-26, 25-20, 25-20 to Italy in the quarterfinals.

Dragan Travica and captain Cristian Savani each had four aces for Italy, which will face Brazil in Friday’s semifinals. Savani finished with 19 points.

Russia takes on Bulgaria in the other semifinal.

CYCLING – BMX: Time trial world champion Caroline Buchanan of Australia and Raymon van der Biezen of the Netherlands posted the best times of the seeding runs.

American rider Brooke Crain crashed in the home stretch in a section made of a succession of small jumps. She managed to get back on her bike to cross the finish line but officially was listed as not finishing. If she’s able to continue, she would be given the 16th and final seed.

SAILING: The U.S. was shut out of medals for the first time since 1936 when women’s match racing skipper Anna Tunnicliffe was beaten in the quarterfinals by Finland. Tunnicliffe was the final American with a chance for a medal.

BOXING: Middleweight Claressa Shields of the U.S. dominated Marina Volnova of Kazakhstan in the semifinals of the first Olympic women’s tournament, earning a spot in the final against Nadezda Torlopova of Russia.

Shields is the last American boxer left in London after flyweight Marlen Esparza lost 10-8 to a Chinese world champion, Ren Cancan, an hour earlier.

WATER POLO: The U.S. men were eliminated with an 8-2 quarterfinal loss to unbeaten Croatia.

The Croats jumped to a 5-0 lead by halftime. The Americans clawed back to 5-2 before Croatia pulled away for good.

DIVING: Chen Ruolin of China led the women’s 10-meter platform preliminaries, trying to add a gold medal in the individual event to the one she won in platform synchro.