What’s Wrong with the American Relay Teams?

Try as they might, the Americans just can't seem to get that baton around the track in the 400-meter relay without some sort of misadventure.

First the men were disqualified at the world championships for making an exchange outside the allowable zone. Then the women didn't finish after Muna Lee pulled up with a hamstring injury.

It was shades of Beijing all over again, when the two relay teams dropped the stick at the Olympics.

"We're not panicking," said Doug Logan, the CEO of USA Track and Field. "To lose on something technical rather than on a speed basis is disappointing. We're going back to the drawing board and teach the rules of the relays better and practice better."

That's been attempted before.

In the aftermath of Beijing, Logan and his staff did a comprehensive study looking into what went wrong with the 400 relay teams after the baton clanged to the track not once, but twice. They established new rules and protocols.

Then this happened.

 

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