Tyson Gay, Lauryn Williams drop baton, US Relay Teams out

The U.S. men and women both dropped the baton in the Olympic 4x100 meter relays Thursday night and failed to advance out of the first round.


(Photo credit: AP)

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. Gay never did feel that baton, never did get to run his anchor leg, never did get to even compete in a final at the Beijing Olympics, much less win a medal, let alone gold. Instead, the stick slammed to the wet track, a not-so-subtle symbol of American favorites' foibles at the Bird's Nest.

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, Ms. Williams started running too early and missed a hand-off from Marion Jones in the final.


(Photo credit: Xinhua)