The U.S. men and women both dropped the baton in the Olympic 400-meter relays Thursday night and failed to advance out of the first round.
First, men’s anchor Tyson Gay, part of the American team that won the relay at last year’s world championships, did not get the red metal stick from third-leg runner Darvis Patton.
Then, about 25 minutes later, women’s anchor Lauryn Williams flubbed her exchange with Torri Edwards, their baton dropping to the ground, too. At the 2004 Olympics, Williams started running too early and missed a handoff from Marion Jones in the final.
“If people want to assess the blame to me, that’s OK. I mean, I can take whatever it is that people are going to dish out,” Williams said. “We had good chemistry. The hand was back there. She was there. I don’t know what happened.”
Unlike the men, who stopped racing, Williams scrambled back on the wet track to pick up the baton and complete the lap — more than 6 seconds after first-place Belgium finished in 42.92. It was a nice gesture, but the U.S. was disqualified.
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