The United States dropped the baton in the men's 4x100m relay on Thursday evening at the Beijing Olympic Games and was disqualified for the finals.

Trinidad & Tobago won the first round of the relay competition in 38.26 seconds, followed by Japan and the Netherlands. Four of the eight teams in the heat lost their batons on the wet track that is bathing in drizzle.

Tyson Gay, the best sprinter of the United States, became the biggest loser after the team failure. He was earlier disqualified for the men's 100m sprint finals and lost chance to line up with world record holder Usain Bolt to compete for the fastest man title in the Olympics.

Gay said, "I dropped it. I tried to reach for it, but it wasn't there. I should have made sure, I guess it was my fault."

He blamed himself, "I'm a veteran. I've never dropped a stick in my life. I felt it right near the thumb area. When I went to grab, nothing. Sometimes it takes an extra second."

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2008)