Update: Team USA’s handoff woes continued on Thursday in Tokyo. In the qualifying heat, Fred Kerley and Ronnie Baker mistimed the second handoff and required at least three attempts to complete it. The team couldn’t make up the time lost, finished sixth in the heat and didn’t qualify for the final.
In the past 109 years, the U.S. men’s team has run the 4×100 relay 40 times in Olympics and world championships, and every race has gone one of two ways. Either the Americans won a medal (27 times) or were disqualified (13 times). Nothing in between.
By far, the biggest reason for DQs has been handoffs that ranged from unlucky to terrible.
So when the men take to the track in Tokyo for qualifying heats, the question will be less about whether they are fast and more about whether they’ll be able to get the baton from one runner to the other.
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Crazy things happen when two of the world’s speediest humans try to pass a baton while running as fast as they can, so it’s not a shock that bad handoffs bedevil nearly every 4×100 relay team once in a while. The U.S. women were DQ’d in 2004 and 2008, and all elite national teams have a few tales of handoff horrors.
But only the U.S. men have taken both winning relays and “dropping the stick” to such extremes, and their races have gotten more harrowing recently.
Since 1988, they’ve had nearly as many disqualifications (11) as medals (12), and all but two of those DQs were for bad handoffs. (Two, in 2001 and 2012, were because runners were suspended for doping violations.)
Why is a handoff so hard?
Unlike in the longer relays such as the 4×400, a handoff in the 4×100 happens when both runners are at or near top speed.
Also, the handoff is “blind” — the runner who is receiving the baton isn’t looking at the person who is handing it to him, which makes communication critical.
Finally, most elite teams try to hand off toward the latter part of the track’s exchange zone so the receiving runner is running at top speed when he gets the baton. That strategy means the baton hardly slows down, but the runners have little room for error.
The bottom line, said longtime Louisiana State track coach Dennis Shaver, whose 4×100 teams just placed first (men) and second (women) in the NCAA championships, is “there’s gotta be good chemistry within the group.”
Handoffs take place in three exchange zones on the 400 meter track. The third zone can be chaotic because runners from different teams are close together.
3rd exchange zone
4th runner
1st exchange
zone
2nd runner
2nd exchange
zone
3rd runner
1.
Before the race, everyone except the leadoff runner will place a “go mark” — usually a piece of light-colored tape — on the track a certain number of steps before the exchange zone.
“Go mark”
1, 2, 3…
Start of the
exchange zone
End of the
exchange zone
2.
Then they get into position at the beginning of the exchange zone and wait, watching behind them.
“Go mark”
Start of the
exchange zone
3.
When they see the oncoming runner reach the go mark, they take off and (ideally) do not look back again.
“Go mark”
Start of the
exchange zone
End of the
exchange zone
4.
In the exchange zone, the passer yells “stick!” and the receiver puts out their arm behind them — arm high, palm open, thumb down.
“Stick!”
End of the
exchange
zone
5.
The passer pushes the baton into that hand, and the receiver’s fingers close around it.
6.
The pass has to be complete and the baton has to be in the receiver’s hand when they run out of the exchange zone.
End of the
exchange zone
How a 4×100 handoff works
Handoffs take place in three exchange zones on the 400 meter track. The third zone can be chaotic because runners from different teams are close together.
3rd exchange zone
4th runner
1st exchange
zone
2nd runner
2nd exchange
zone
3rd runner
1.
Before the race, everyone except the leadoff runner will place a “go mark” — usually a piece of light-colored tape — on the track a certain number of steps before the exchange zone.
“Go mark”
1, 2, 3…
Start of the
exchange zone
End of the
exchange zone
2.
Then they get into position at the beginning of the exchange zone and wait, watching behind them.
“Go mark”
Start of the
exchange zone
3.
When they see the oncoming runner reach the go mark, they take off and (ideally) do not look back again.
“Go mark”
Start of the
exchange zone
End of the
exchange zone
4.
In the exchange zone, the passer yells “stick!” and the receiver puts out their arm behind them — arm high, palm open, thumb down.
“Stick!”
End of the
exchange
zone
5.
The passer pushes the baton into that hand, and the receiver’s fingers close around it.
6.
The pass has to be complete and the baton has to be in the receiver’s hand when they run out of the exchange zone.
End of the
exchange zone
How a 4×100 handoff works
Handoffs take place in three exchange zones on the 400 meter track. The third zone can be chaotic because runners from different teams are close together.
3rd exchange zone
4th runner
1st exchange
zone
2nd runner
2nd exchange
zone
3rd runner
1.
Before the race, everyone except the leadoff runner will place a “go mark” — usually a piece of light-colored tape — on the track a certain number of steps before the exchange zone.
“Go mark”
1, 2, 3…
Start of the
exchange zone
End of the
exchange zone
2.
Then they get into position at the beginning of the exchange zone and wait, watching behind them.
“Go mark”
Start of the
exchange zone
3.
When they see the oncoming runner reach the go mark, they take off and (ideally) do not look back again.
“Go mark”
Start of the
exchange zone
End of the
exchange zone
4.
In the exchange zone, the passer yells “stick!” and the receiver puts out their arm behind them — arm high, palm open, thumb down.
“Stick!”
End of the
exchange
zone
5.
The passer pushes the baton into that hand, and the receiver’s fingers close around it.
6.
The pass has to be complete and the baton has to be in the receiver’s hand when they run out of the exchange zone.
End of the
exchange zone
How a 4×100 handoff works
Handoffs take place in three exchange zones on the 400 meter track. The third zone can be chaotic because runners from different teams are close together.
3rd exchange zone
4th runner
1st exchange zone
2nd runner
2nd exchange zone
3rd runner
1.
Before the race, everyone except the leadoff runner will place a “go mark” — usually a piece of light-colored tape — on the track a certain number of steps before the exchange zone.
“Go mark”
1, 2, 3, 4…
Start of the
exchange zone
End of the
exchange zone
2.
Then they get into position at the beginning of the exchange zone and wait, watching behind them.
“Go mark”
Start of the
exchange zone
3.
When they see the oncoming runner reach the go mark, they take off and (ideally) do not look back again.
“Go mark”
Start of the
exchange zone
End of the
exchange zone
4.
In the exchange zone, the passer yells “stick!” and the receiver puts out their arm behind them — arm high, palm open, thumb down.
“Stick!”
End of the
exchange zone
5.
The passer pushes the baton into that hand, and the receiver’s fingers close around it.
6.
The pass has to be complete and the baton has to be in the receiver’s hand when they run out of the exchange zone.
End of the
exchange zone
How a 4×100 handoff works
Handoffs take place in three exchange zones on the 400 meter track. The third zone can be chaotic because runners from different teams are close together.
3rd exchange zone
4th runner
1st exchange zone
2nd runner
2nd exchange zone
3rd runner
1.
Before the race, everyone except the leadoff runner will place a “go mark” — usually a piece of light-colored tape — on the track a certain number of steps before the exchange zone.
“Go mark”
1, 2, 3, 4…
Start of the
exchange zone
End of the
exchange zone
2.
Then they get into position at the beginning of the exchange zone and wait, watching behind them.
“Go mark”
Start of the
exchange zone
3.
When they see the oncoming runner reach the go mark, they take off and (ideally) do not look back again.
“Go mark”
Start of the
exchange zone
End of the
exchange zone
4.
In the exchange zone, the passer yells “stick!” and the receiver puts out their arm behind them — arm high, palm open, thumb down.
“Stick!”
End of the
exchange zone
5.
The passer pushes the baton into that hand, and the receiver’s fingers close around it.
6.
The pass has to be complete and the baton has to be in the receiver’s hand when they run out of the exchange zone.
End of the
exchange zone
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Until a 2018 rule change, there was a 10-meter “fly zone” in which a receiving runner could build speed before a 20-meter exchange zone.
“Fly zone”
10 meters
Exchange zone
20 meters
New exchange zone
30 meters
Those two zones are now combined into one, which should make it nearly impossible to accidentally pass too early.
The 30-meter exchange zone
Until a 2018 rule change, there was a 10-meter “fly zone” in which a receiving runner could build speed before a 20-meter exchange zone.
“Fly zone”
10 meters
Exchange zone
20 meters
New exchange zone
30 meters
Those two zones are now combined into one, which should make it nearly impossible to accidentally pass too early.
The 30-meter exchange zone
Until a 2018 rule change, there was a 10-meter “fly zone” in which a receiving runner could build speed before a 20-meter exchange zone.
“Fly zone”
10 meters
Exchange zone
20 meters
New exchange zone
30 meters
Those two zones are now combined into one, which should make it nearly impossible to accidentally pass too early.
The 30-meter exchange zone
Until a 2018 rule change, there was a 10-meter “fly zone” in which a receiving runner could build speed before a 20-meter exchange zone.
“Fly zone”
10 meters
Exchange zone
20 meters
New exchange zone
30 meters
Those two zones are now combined into one, which should make it nearly impossible to accidentally pass too early.
The 30-meter exchange zone
Until a 2018 rule change, there was a 10-meter “fly zone” in which a receiving runner could build speed before a 20-meter exchange zone.
“Fly zone”
10 meters
Exchange zone
20 meters
New exchange zone
30 meters
Those two zones are now combined into one, which should make it nearly impossible to accidentally pass too early.
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Typically the first and third runners will carry the baton in their right hand so they can run the turns on the inside half of the lane, which is slightly shorter than the outside half.
Right
hand
Lane is
4 feet
wide
They pass to the left hand of the second and anchor runners.
Typically the first and third runners will carry the baton in their right hand so they can run the turns on the inside half of the lane, which is slightly shorter than the outside half.
Right
hand
Lane is
4 feet
wide
They pass to the left hand of the second and anchor runners.
Typically the first and third runners will carry the baton in their right hand so they can run the turns on the inside half of the lane, which is slightly shorter than the outside half.
Right hand
Lane is
4 feet wide
They pass to the left hand of the second and anchor runners.
Typically the first and third runners will carry the baton in their right hand so they can run the turns on the inside half of the lane, which is slightly shorter than the outside half.
Right hand
Lane is
4 feet wide
They pass to the left hand of the second and anchor runners.
Typically the first and third runners will carry the baton in their right hand so they can run the turns on the inside half of the lane, which is slightly shorter than the outside half.
Right hand
Lane is
4 feet wide
They pass to the left hand of the second and anchor runners.
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What has gone wrong? All kinds of things.
Just about anything you can imagine going wrong in a relay has probably happened to the U.S. men in a major meet.
The handoff happened too late
1912
The first Olympic 4×100 relay was also the first time a heavily favored U.S. team wouldn’t make it to the final. All four men had just won individual sprint medals and ran what would have been a world record (42.2 seconds) in their semifinal, but they were disqualified for passing outside the exchange zone.
1960
This was one of several times a last-minute substitution threw off a team’s chemistry. Ray Norton, fresh off three gold medals in the 1959 Pan Am Games, had practiced to be the team’s anchor. But after poor finishes in the 100 and 200, coaches moved him to Leg 2, as David Maraniss recounts in his book “Rome 1960.” Lead runner Frank Budd slowed as he hit the go mark, but Norton, nervous and eager for redemption, took off — fast. “I just absolutely flew, and he couldn’t catch me,” Norton said. Budd yelled for Norton to stop, but by the time he did, Norton was past the end of the handoff zone.
Alternate Lee McNeil was running the anchor leg in the qualifying heat so 100-meter gold medalist Carl Lewis would be fresh for a world-record push in the final. At the last turn, Calvin Smith initially missed the handoff to McNeil. The two finally connected at the very edge of the exchange zone, and McNeil finished first in the heat. But three rival countries filed a protest, and video showed the handoff was completed just outside the zone.
Jon Drummond was moving so fast when he approached Tony McCall, a college junior and injury fill-in, that McCall couldn’t stay ahead long enough to make a clean exchange. Drummond tried to pass twice and failed; by the time McCall had the baton, he was out of the zone.
Despite two mandatory relay camps that were ordered specifically to address handoff problems, Tyson Gay and Mike Rodgers finished the final exchange outside the zone. Rodgers appeared to start too soon and they ran out of room.
The handoff happened too early
Sometimes an exchange took place in the old fly zone before runners got to the exchange zone. The new 30-meter combined zone should prevent this problem.
2009
In the qualifying heat, Shawn Crawford tried to pass too soon, and anchor runner Darvis Patton touched the baton before it entered the exchange zone.
The U.S. team appeared to win bronze behind Jamaica and Japan — it would’ve been the first time the Americans placed third — but they were disqualified after it was determined that leadoff runner Rodgers completed the pass to Justin Gatlin too early.
Brian Lewis found out he would be running in the qualifying heat just 90 minutes before the start. He was supposed to pass to Tim Montgomery, but Montgomery mistimed his start and left too early. When he was almost to the end of the exchange zone with no baton in his hand, Montgomery slowed down and looked back just in time to see Lewis, flailing at full speed to try to catch up, run past and nearly clock him with an elbow. Montgomery ducked and never got the baton.
2005
In the first handoff of the first heat, Mardy Scales was passing to Leonard Scott when the baton fell to the track. Scott had his left hand around the baton, but it slipped out. “I put all the blame on myself,” said a dejected Scott.
Leonard Scott of the U.S., left, drops the baton during a changeover with Mardy Scales at the 2005 world championships. (Thomas Kienzle/AP)
2008
In the first round, Patton tried twice to pass to Gay. On the second attempt, the baton hit the heel of Gay’s hand and bounced to the track. Jamaica, led by Usain Bolt, won its first of three straight Olympic 4×100 relays. Gay and Patton both blamed themselves. “It probably was my fault,” said Gay. “If it hits your hand, you should have it. I’m a veteran. I’ve never dropped a stick in my life.”
Darvis Patton, center, and Tyson Gay, second from the left, drop the baton in the 2008 Olympics 4×100-meter relay. (Kevin Frayer/AP)
“I think what we have to do is bring back the team camaraderie and patriotism and confidence in getting the stick around,” Jon Drummond said, after USA Track and Field hired him as coach to help fix the relay problem. “It’s not rocket science.”
Drummond named his choices for the world championships relay final far earlier than usual to give the team more time to practice, and the Americans advanced to the final.
But as Patton sped toward the exchange zone, he was knocked off balance by the arm of Britain’s Harry Aikines-Aryeetey in the adjacent lane. Patton was completely upended and dislocated his left shoulder when he hit the track. Walter Dix, the individual 100-meter gold medalist, never got the baton.
The handoff took too much time
2004
The four men who ran the final had practiced handoffs together only twice, the New York Times reported. Coby Miller, running third, never heard Gatlin yell “Stick!” over the packed stadium crowd, so he slowed to wait for the baton. Gatlin, however, was right behind him and stepped on his foot, tearing a hole in Miller’s shoe. The pass, legal but awkward, cost them time. The next pass, to anchor Maurice Greene, was also legal and also awkward. The team lost to Britain by .01 of a second.
Justin Gatlin, right, hands off the baton to Coby Miller during 2004 Olympics. (David J. Phillip/AP)
Mookie Salaam completed the first leg with about a meter lead, but anchor Gatlin appeared to go too early and then flailed into the Jamaicans’ lane trying to reach back for the baton. The U.S. team was not disqualified, but the mishap erased the lead, and Gatlin couldn’t make it up against Bolt.
Of course, a lot of times, the handoffs went right
At the 2019 world championships, post-Bolt and fresh off more relay camps, the Americans were once again favored in the race, as they had been so many times since 1912.
Noah Lyles of the United States, left, celebrates after leading the team to gold in the men’s 4×100 meter relay final at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Team USA had no formal relay camps (or other track camps) this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the relay runners have been practicing at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s high-performance center in Japan, trying to develop the chemistry they need to go with their speed.
If they can do that, maybe they can relax, focus and bring home another medal.
“It’s really a pretty easy race to run, but sometimes it gets so overcoached that it gets complicated,” said LSU’s Shaver. “Just get the stick to the next person and let ‘em run.”
Top illustration by Artur Galocha with photo by Antonin Thuillier/AFP/Getty Images. Pictograms by Álvaro Valiño for The Washington Post. Adam Kilgore contributed to this report.
