A botched exchange between Allyson Felix and English Gardner during Thursday morning’s qualifying heat caused the baton to drop and eliminated the U.S. from medal contention.
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It appeared a Brazilian runner in the adjacent lane contacted star United States sprinter Allyson Felix causing Felix to lose her grip on the baton and fumble the exchange with Gardner. Gardner held her head in desperation as Felix went to pick up the baton and hand it over. It hit the ground as Gardner and Felix crashed into each other.
As it turns out, one of the runners for team Brazil bumped into Allyson, and the USA has since filed a petition, arguing that should still advance to the finals.
Only the first three in each heat automatically qualified with the next two fastest times advancing to the final.
The Americans were considered favorites in the relay, which they won at the 2012 Olympics with a Felix-led team.
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Felix said the team will file a protest regarding the result because she got bumped, although it’s unclear how officials will rule on that.
