Americans DQed from 400 relay for zone violation

BERLIN (AP) - No fumbling of the baton this time. No final, either.

Soon after turning in the fastest time in the men's 400-meter relay Friday, the Americans were disqualified at the world championships for passing the baton outside of the designated zone at Olympic Stadium.

The Americans appealed, citing inconclusive video footage, but it was rejected.

Even when they get the baton around the track, they still can't advance.

The latest miscue comes after a botched exchange at the Beijing Olympics last summer, and the big mistake overshadowed two big wins.

Allyson Felix broke the Jamaicans' stronghold on the sprints, holding off Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown to win the 200. Moments later, LaShawn Merritt breezed to a win in the 400, cruising past rival and defending champion Jeremy Wariner.

When Merritt heard the news of the relay team, he was shocked.

"Oh yeah?" he said. "It's too bad."

USA Track and Field did an exhaustive study looking into what went wrong with the 400 relay teams in Beijing after both the men and women dropped the baton, establishing new rules and protocols.

"Our men's 4x100 relay had great preparation for this meet," Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, USA Track & Field chief of sport performance, said in a statement. "To be disqualified is something that is hard for all of us to accept, but at this point we can only use it as inspiration for our remaining three relays, and as a lesson for future championships. It does a disservice to the champions we crowned tonight, and to all our medalists here, to allow this to overshadow what has been a strong overall team performance in Berlin."

With memories of Beijing still fresh, the relay team took a cautious approach, making slow and safe exchanges. The final pass between Shawn Crawford and Darvis Patton, however, was outside the zone.

Patton was also part of the botched exchange in Beijing, along with Tyson Gay, who didn't run Friday due to a groin injury.

Running the anchor leg Friday, Patton grabbed the baton and simply took off.

"If you dwell on the past, I think it can hamper your progress," Patton said.

The exchange between Patton and Crawford wasn't even the dicey one.

No, that was the pass from Mike Rodgers to Crawford. Crawford slowed way down, making sure he had a firm grip before bolting.

Before being disqualified, the Americans were in line for a showdown in Saturday's final with Usain Bolt and the Jamaicans. The Americans easily won their heat while the Jamaicans, running without Bolt and Asafa Powell, finished second in their heat.

"My thing is safe baton passes in the semis," Crawford said moments after the race. "When it comes to the finals, just let it all out."

The Americans won't get a chance to enact that plan.