USA Track & Field’s appeal of the men’s 4×100-meter relay team’s disqualification in Friday’s final has been denied, the IAAF said Saturday.
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It’s a story that might sound familiar: A promising US men’s 4x100m relay team was disqualified from a marquee race because of a bad baton exchange.
Runners that receive the baton start moving several meters before the changeover area, with the aim of being close to full speed by the time the baton is handed to them.
A Jamaican team containing Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, was second in 41.36.
Officials “ruled that one of their baton exchanges was outside the legal zone”, as Greg wrote in his initial post about the race. But that result didn’t stand.
USA Track and Field subsequently announced it had appealed the disqualification. The American team will have to overcome issues passing the baton from one runner to the next.
But the team’s troubles extend past that.
US officials filed a protest with the Jury of Appeals of the International Assn. of Athletics Federations.
“I couldn’t even shed a tear I was so shocked”, said Gay, who has been around for numerous most recent failures. Then there was last year’s world championship, where a terrible baton exchange slowed the Americans.
It’s more than bad luck, though.
“Take Bolt out of it, and we still would’ve been beaten by Japan”, said Mike Tucci, a high school coach in DE, who has produced champion after champion, often by not even using his fastest runners. And I don’t understand. Damn, bad luck again. “It’s weird. I don’t get it”. “It was a nightmare”, said Gatlin. I felt like it was a clean exchange, no bobbles.
University of Tennessee product Justin Gatlin, 34 and possibly in his last Olympics as well, ran second for the United States and came away with what he thought was a bronze medal – until moments after the race was finished and he learned the Americans had been disqualified for an exchange violation involving Gatlin.
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But, Gatlin added, “I don’t know the details of the rules”.
