The US 4×100m relay athletes had a horrifying 13th day in Bird’s Nest at Beijing Summer Games. The US Men’s and Women’s relay teams were favorites to win gold medals before the start of the event. 100m and 200m World Champion Tyson Gay was one of the members in the Men’s 4×100m relay team. But who on the Earth had dreamt that the US relay teams of both sexes would fail to make to the finals of 4×100m relay event?

The transfer of batons proved fatal for these athletes. Tyson Gay was the culprit in the Men’s relay event. On the final curve, he failed to grab the baton delivered to him by Darvis Patton. This fumble by Gay put an end to the gay of the Americans. Even after the end of the event, Gay could not be sure of what happened during the competition that he failed to hold the baton.

The Women’s 4×100m event followed after the men’s event. The Americans were hopeful that the women sprinters would compensate for the men’s fault. But the thunder struck twice! In the women’s event too, baton exchange in the last curve proved a disaster for Torri Edwards and Lauryn Williams. Williams regretted for the botch after the event but her mistake had cost Americans a medal in 4×100m Women’s Relay.

2008 Summer Games of Beijing will be a rare competition when the US 4×100m relay teams will end their campaign without any medal. In the history of Summer Games, the drought of any medal for the US in 4×100m relay event has happened only twice; once in 1912 when the relay was introduced in the Summer Games and for the second time in 1980 when the US boycotted the Games.