Bad exchange students

They've figured out the part about passing the torch from one generation to the next. Now, members of the US 400m relay teams can work on pa...

They8217;ve figured out the part about passing the torch from one generation to the next. Now, members of the US 400m relay teams can work on passing the stick.

Problems with baton exchanges from leadoff runner Shawn Crawford to Justin Gatlin, and then from Gatlin to Coby Miller, cost the men the gold medal and world record Maurice Greene had promised. Their fumbles Saturday were minor, compared to the miscue that disqualified the women8217;s team Friday, but each slowdown helped the quartet from Britain, anchored by Mark Lewis-Francis, hold off the US and win in 38.07 seconds.

Crawford, Gatlin, Miller and the fast-closing Greene finished second in 38.08, with Nigeria third in 38.23. The US team had run a 38.02 in Friday8217;s semifinals.

8216;8216;We don8217;t work on handoffs every day,8217;8217; said Greene, who estimated they8217;d practiced merely twice. 8216;8216;If any one thing goes wrong, the whole team goes wrong. We all have to get the job done. It8217;s not the 1 by 400, it8217;s the 4 by 100.8217;8217;

Everything went smoothly in the men8217;s and women8217;s 1,600-meter relays. Leading wire to wire, the women8217;s team of DeeDee Trotter, Monique Henderson, Sanya Richards and Monique Hennagan won in 3 minutes 19.01 seconds, a season best and the third consecutive Olympic victory for the US in that event. Russia was second in 3:20.16, and Jamaica third in 3:22.

The men8217;s team of Otis Harris, Derrick Brew, Jeremy Wariner and Darold Williamson breezed to gold in 2:55.91, ahead of Australia, 3:00.60, and Nigeria, 3:00.90. It was the sixth consecutive Olympic 1,600m title for the US.

Richards said she and her teammates had drawn inspiration from the strength of Lauryn Williams. 8216;8216;She was really disappointed,8217;8217; Richards said, 8216;8216;and she wanted us to go out there and give our best to bring home the gold, and that8217;s what we did.8217;8217;

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No one passed the buck, and they all passed the baton cleanly. Trotter ran the opening leg in 49.19, Henderson covered the second leg in 50.28, Richards ran the third leg in 49.81 and Hennagan ran the anchor leg in 49.73.

US men8217;s coach George Williams said he8217;d take the blame for the men8217;s 400 relay8217;s second-place finish. 8216;8216;I didn8217;t run it, but I put it together,8217;8217; he said. But he put it together after learning John Capel had tested positive for marijuana at a meet earlier this month in Munich and deciding to remove Capel from the relay a few hours before Friday8217;s semifinal.

Crawford replaced Capel on Friday. Darvis Patton ran the second leg Friday and was replaced by Gatlin on Saturday. 8216;8216;You got to take the whuppin8217; just like you give it out,8217;8217; Williams said. 8216;8216;That8217;s track and field. We just didn8217;t get the stick together.8217;8217;

Crawford took the early lead but had to slow to avoid overrunning Gatlin. 8216;8216;Shawn yelled, 8216;Stick!8217; two times,8217;8217; Gatlin said. When it was Gatlin8217;s turn to pass to Miller, they nearly ran out of luck. 8216;8216;I stepped on his foot and it ripped a hole in his shoe,8217;8217; Gatlin said. 8216;8216;Thank God I didn8217;t cut him. He made up a lot of ground for running with a rip in his shoe.8217;8217;

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Nigeria capitalised on the US team8217;s hesitation and took the lead, but Britain kicked into high gear with third leg Marlon Devonish regaining the lead. Greene passed Nigerian anchor Deji Aliu and nearly caught Lewis-Francis, but the Britons were able to hang on.

LA Times-Washington Post