BERLIN — 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’ appeal, citing inconclusive video footage, was rejected. The latest miscue comes after a botched exchange at the Beijing Olympics last summer, and the big mistake overshadowed two big wins Friday.
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.
With the victories, the United States jumped over Jamaica in the medals table with six golds and 16 overall. Jamaica was second with five gold and 10 overall. Russia had four golds and 11 overall.
When Merritt heard the news of the relay team’s DQ, he was shocked.
“Oh, yeah?” he said. “It’s too bad.”
Before being disqualified, the Americans were in line for a showdown in today’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. That gives Bolt a shot at winning a third gold and setting a third world record at the world championships.
In other finals:
• Dani Samuels won the discus to give Australia its first medal at the championships. Olympic champion Stephanie Brown Trafton of the U.S. finished 12th.
• Yaroslav Rybakov of Russia captured the high jump title, while compatriot Sergey Kirdyapkin won the 50-kilometer walk.
