Olympics - the relay bungles

Something amazing seemed to be happening on the athletics track at the Beijing Olympics, during the heats for the relays. Various teams got themselves disqualified during the heats thereby missing out on the finals. Both the US men & women's teams dropped their batons during the 4 x 100m relay heats. The French women's team did the same thing at the same relay. The Jamaican women's team likewise botched their own handover - the baton never changed hands. The British men didn't drop the baton, but got themselves disqualified for late/improper (or non-existent) baton handover between the third & final sprinter. There might have been other teams which got disqualified or "did not finish". Carnage on the track - teams just dropped like flies. It's quite strange that the relay debacles should happen at this Olympics - I don't remember so many botches at previous Olympics. Wonder what's the reason for that.....

All of that meant that those teams got disqualified, & miss out on the final races. Quite a number of those disqualified teams were considered medal contenders. That's a shame. In some ways, one might see it as devaluing the final events, as viewers miss out on seeing some of the best teams in action. And also, the absence of those disqualified teams made it easier for their rivals to win the final races. But then again, the other side of the argument is that every team competing in the heats had equal chances to qualify for the finals. So those that disqualified themselves out of finals contention (by dropping the baton or by committing some other fault) blew their chances & only had themselves to blame for that. I mean, what have they been doing during their training? You would have thought they would be able to do those things correctly. Get the basics right, do the baton handover correctly 3 times, & those teams should qualify if their times are fast enough.

I guess those disqualified teams & their athletics officials will need to do a comprehensive review of their preparation & training programs, including communication, co-ordination, tactics & baton handover techniques. Especially, it would seem, for the American teams - I mean, the fact that both the men & women relay teams suggests certain aspects of the American training program is a bit off (or was it mere coincidence?). Not surprising, then that the outcry at the baton flops is heard loudest from the US compared to the other countries. The Americans (or at least some of their officials & sections of the public), apparently expect nothing less than an avalanche of gold medals from all the track & field events. The US track & field president Doug Logan already promised that future American track & field teams will be better. Looks like we can expect a better & "meaner" bunch from the stars & stripes in years to come. Watch out, world.....