After all the rumors, innuendo and conspiracy theories surrounding the U.S. men's 400-meter relay team were put to rest, it was the only American relay not to win gold.
It finished second - and to a lot of second-guessing.The Carl Lewis-less squad was upset by Canada for the team's first outright loss in Olympic history.
The man who got the nod over Lewis, Tim Harden, gave up the lead on the second leg and lost even more time with a poor handoff to Mike Marsh.
By the time Marsh gave the baton to Dennis Mitchell, it was too late for him to catch 100-meter champion Donovan Bailey. Canada won the gold with a time of 37.69 seconds - the fastest time ever by a non-American team and the sixth-fastest ever.
"The USA relay team were on their home turf and concerned so much with whether or not Carl Lewis would be in their team that they forgot that other teams were running, too," Bailey said.
The Americans won silver in 38.05. Brazil was third in 38.41.
The other three American relay teams had less drama - and more success.
Gwen Torrence anchored the women's 400-meter relay to victory, and the women held on to win the 1,600-meter relay.
"For me to get on the top podium in my hometown, that's fantastic," Torrence said. "Everybody is really ecstatic that I got the medal. Maybe now I'll last until 2000 and get the 100."
Despite the absence of the injured Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds, the U.S. men won the 1,600-meter relay as Anthuan Maybank held off Britain's Roger Black in the final 50 meters. They had the third-fastest time ever: 2:55.99.
Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic became the first man to repeat as javelin champion since 1924. Noureddine Morceli of Algeria won the men's 1,500, Venuste Niyongabo of Burundi won the men's 5,000, Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria won the women's high jump and Svetlana Masterkova of Russia added the women's 1,500 title to the 800 gold she won six days earlier.
Lewis had hoped to join the 400 relay squad and get a chance for a record 10th Olympic gold medal. But U.S. coach Erv Hunt picked Harden instead when a sore heel sidelined Leroy Burrell, who denied he was faking to help his friend Lewis.
When Harden's leg began, the U.S. team led by a tenth of a second. When it ended, the Americans trailed by nearly a quarter of a second.
"I'm glad Carl didn't run," said U.S. leadoff runner Jon Drummond. "If we had lost to Canada (with him), everybody would have blamed Carl Lewis."
The U.S. men's 400 relay team had never been outrun in the Olympics. They were disqualified in 1912, 1960 and 1988 and the United States boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
The start of the relay was delayed six minutes when Ghana tried to use an ineligible runner and was disqualified. Ghana's runners sat on the track and refused to move, then had to be escorted off by security guards.
Drummond gave his team a lead over Canada. He passed to Harden, who didn't leave enough space on the baton for a comfortable pass to Marsh.
Harden put both hands on the baton to adjust its position. Meanwhile, he was being run down by Gilroy Gilbert, who ran a leg of 9.02 seconds compared to 9.36 for Harden. Then Harden's baton pass to Marsh was sloppy, allowing the Canadians to build their lead.
At the end of the third leg, Canada's Bruny Surin was comfortably ahead of Marsh. Surin raised his arms in triumph immediately after passing to Bailey.
"It was over," Bailey said.
Mitchell had no chance of catching Bailey, the 100-meter world record holder, down the homestretch.
Mitchell and Drummond insisted that the best U.S. team was on the track - but not Marsh, a friend and training partner of Lewis.
"I think the important thing is not to answer that question," Marsh said. "It's not important to look back and complain. It's disappointing, but foreigners are getting a little stronger. We have to go back to the drawing board."
The American team was fortunate to get the silver. Replays showed Drummond stepped on the line bordering his lane as he went around the corner, which could have resulted in disqualification.
Lewis cramped up and finished last in the 100 at the trials, then refused an invitation to attend a relay squad training session in North Carolina in mid-July. But he began campaigning for a spot on the heavily favored squad after winning Monday's long jump.
The next five days - right up to an hour before the relay, when the final U.S. roster was submitted - were filled with speculation over Lewis would grab the spotlight one more time.
"I knew how I felt," Hunt said. "I should have just said, `These are my guys.' So yes, I think this affected the team."
Running in the relay would have given Lewis a chance to break the record of nine Olympic gold medals he shares with Finnish distance runner Paavo Nurmi, Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina and American swimmer Mark Spitz.
A fan in the crowd Saturday night held a sign asking: "Where Is Carl?"
Torrence, who had hoped to win three gold medals at her hometown Olympics, finally got her first as the women's 400-meter relay won in 41.95 seconds. The Bahamas got the silver in 42.14 and Jamaica got bronze in 42.24.
Torrence, the 1992 Olympic champion in the 200 and the reigning 100-meter world champion, began the summer favored in both races at the Olympics.
But her legs were hurting at the U.S. trials and she failed to qualify for the 200 by a thousandth of a second. She settled for a bronze medal in the Olympic 100 behind Gail Devers and Jamaica's Merlene Ottey.
"I think that if the games hadn't been in Atlanta, I would have pulled out because of my leg," Torrence said.
In the men's 1,600-meter relay, LaMont Smith, Alvin Harrison, Derek Mills and Maybank won the gold. Britain was second in 2:56.60, and Jamaica won the bronze medal in 2:59.42.
In the women's 1,600-meter relay, the Americans won in 3:20.91 as Jearl Miles held off Nigeria's Falilat Ogunkoya on the final straightaway. Nigeria was second in 3:21.04 and Germany won the bronze in 3:21.14.
Morceli, a three-time world champion and the world-record holder, won the men's 1,500 in 3 minutes, 35.78 seconds. Fermin Cacho, the 1992 Olympic champion, got silver in 3:36.40 and Stephen Kipkorir of Kenya got bronze in 3:36.72.
Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco was right behind Morceli entering the final lap, but tripped on Morceli's right heel and fell to the track. Cacho had to hurdle the prone El Guerrouj, who finished last.
Zelezny won the javelin with a throw of 289 feet, 3 inches. Steve Backley of Britain won the silver with 286-10, and Finland's Seppo Raty (285-4) took the bronze.
Masterkova won the women's 1,500 in 4:00.83. Gabriela Szabo of Romania won the silver in 4:01.54, and Theresia Kiesl of Austria took the bronze in 4:03.02.