Was this really happening?

First, the American men's sprint relay team botched a handoff and failed to advance to the Olympic final for the first time since 1988.

Then the women's sprint relay team dropped the baton in its semifinal heat, knocking them out of the final for the first time since the 1948 London Games.

Like a car wreck, the unfolding disaster turned American heads.

"I saw some people actually looking at it and saying, 'Ah,' this and 'Ah' that," U.S. 400 specialist LaShawn Merritt said. "That's not what I came here to do. I came here to get a gold medal."

With American pride on the line, Merritt powered around the National Stadium track, leading an American sweep in the 400.

And as Merritt, Jeremy Wariner and David Neville lined up for the medals ceremony, David Payne and David Oliver were warming up for the 110-meter hurdles. Minutes later, they claimed silver and bronze medals.

"At the end of the day, we came away with five medals in two events," Oliver said.

But it's the start of the day that'll be long remembered, as the underachieving Americans continued to watch Jamaica rule the sprints.

In the men's 4x100 relay, Darvis Patton and anchor Tyson Gay missed their handoff, a painful reminder of the Athens Games, when the U.S. had to settle for silver because of an inept exchange.

Of course, this was worse, with the Americans unable to finish the race.

"I'm a veteran. I never dropped a stick in my life," said Gay, who came into the 2008 Games hoping for several medals but departs without advancing to one final. "I tried to reach for it, but it wasn't there. It probably was my fault. People say if it hits your hand, you should have it."

Patton said it was his fault.

"Tyson is a very humble guy," he said. "But I know it was my job."

In the women's relay, anchor Lauryn Williams blew her exchange with Torri Edwards, another reminder of the 2004 Olympics, when the American women missed a handoff in the final.

"It's unfortunate," Edwards said. "The whole Games haven't been going Team USA's way."

Men's 400: 1. LaShawn Merritt, Suffolk, Va., 43.75. 2. Jeremy Wariner, Waco, Texas, 44.74. 3. David Neville, Valencia, Calif., 44.80. 4. Christopher Brown, Bahamas, 44.84. 5. Leslie Djhone, France, 45.11. 6. Martyn Rooney, Britain, 45.12. 7. Renny Quow, Trinidad & Tobago, 45.22. 8. Johan Wissman, Sweden, 45.39.

Men's triple jump: 1. Nelson Evora, Portugal, 57-11 3/4. 2. Phillips Idowu, Britain, 57-9 3/4. 3. Leevan Sands, Bahamas, 57-8 1/2. 4. Arnie David Girat, Cuba, 57-5 3/4. 5. Marian Oprea, Romania, 56-6. 6. Jadel Gregorio, Brazil, 56-5 1/4. 7. Onochie Achike, Britain, 56-4. 8. Viktor Kuznyetsov, Ukraine, 55-4 1/4. 9. Igor Spasovkhodskiy, Russia, 55-1. 10. Li Yanxi, China, 55-0 1/4. 11. Momchil Karailiev, Bulgaria, 54-0 3/4. 12. Hector Fuentes, Cuba, 53-5.

Men's 50K race walk: Alex Schwazer, Italy, 3:37:09. 2. Jared Tallent, Australia, 3:39:27. 3. Denis Nizhegorodov, Russia, 3:40:14. 4. Jesus Angel Garcia, Spain, 3:44:08. 5. Erik Tysse, Norway, 3:45:08. 6. Horacio Nava, Mexico, 3:45:21. 7. Yuki Yamazaki, Japan, 3:45:47. 8. Rafal Fedaczynski, Poland, 3:46:51. 9. Grzegorz Sudol, Poland, 3:47:18. 10. Luke Adams, Australia, 3:47:45. Also: 39. Phillip Dunn, Chula Vista, Calif., 4:08:32.

Women's 200: 1. Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaica, 21.74. 2. Allyson Felix, Los Angeles, 21.93. 3. Kerron Stewart, Jamaica, 22.00. 4. Muna Lee, Santa Rosa, Calif., 22.01. 5. Marshevet Hooker, Pfugerville, Texas, 22.34. 6. Sherone Simpson, Jamaica, 22.36. 7. Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, Bahamas, 22.61. 8. Cydonie Mothersill, Cayman Islands, 22.68.

Women's javelin: 1. Barbora Spotakova, Czech Republic, 234-3 3/4. 2. Maria Abakumova, Russia, 232-2 1/2. 3. Christina Obergfoll, Germany, 216-114 1/2. Goldie Sayers, Britain, 215-8 1/2. 5. Steffi Nerius, Germany, 214-2 1/2. 6. Osleidys Menendez, Cuba, 207-10. 7. Barbara Madejczyk, Poland, 203-5 3/4. 8. Katharina Molitor, Germany, 195-8. 9. Mercedes Chilla, Spain, 190-8 1/2. 10. Zhang Li, China, 184-2 1/4. 11. Sinta Ozolina, Latvia, 175-1 1/2. 12. Felicea Moldovan-tilea, Romania, (53.04), 174-0 1/4.