U.S. women’s 4x100 relay team dropped the baton after Allyson Felix collided with another runner

The United States women’s 4x100 relay team will run by itself on Thursday night, rerunning the morning race that momentarily dashed the Americans’ hopes for a medal. During the race, Allyson Felix collided with a runner in the next lane during her handoff, losing the baton in the process. The United States team, however, finished the race -- a requirement of filing a protest.

That protest was successful, with the IAAF deeming the American team was interfered with during the handoff. The 4x100 team ended up running a time trial. They needed to beat China’s time of 42.70 seconds, and they did so easily, running 41.77 in their solo run around the track.

The race sparked immediate controversy, as Felix seemed to be knocked by the competitor the next lane over just as she was about to hand off the baton. This appears to be what caused Felix to miss the hand off and throw the baton, which may cost the U.S. a chance to advance to the semifinals. They immediately said they would appeal the results because of the collision.

The team finished dead last with a time of 1:06.71, over 23 seconds behind 15th-place Kazakhstan. Jamaica won the qualifying with a time of 41.79 seconds.

The Americans are considered favorites in the relay, which they won at the 2012 Olympics with a Felix-led team. Things were going well through two legs Thursday, with Felix putting the team in a strong position to hand things over to Gardner and move on to the final. Despite the morning’s controversy, the U.S. team will have a shot at gold thanks to the re-run.