Golden moments for U.S. relay teams

World Track and Field Championships

OSAKA, Japan -- For U.S. athletes, it was a star spangled bonanza on the track after the penultimate day of competition at the World Track and Field Championships.

The U.S. sprint relay teams won minutes apart Saturday night, so the eight men and women were able to celebrate together, posing with seven Old Glories and a Japanese flag.

Pole vaulter Brad Walker also won gold, giving the United States five gold medals and nine total medals in the past two days.

The U.S. leads runner-up Russia in both gold (11-4) and total (22-13) medals.

And:

* Tyson Gay ran the third leg of the 400-meter relay to finish with three gold medals, a feat matched at worlds only by countrymen Carl Lewis (1983 and 1987) and Maurice Greene (1999) and East Germany’s Marita Koch (1983).

“I didn’t come into these championships thinking of three gold medals,” Gay said. “That’s why it got accomplished. I just wanted to have fun.”

* Allyson Felix can match Koch if her 1,600-meter relay wins today. Felix’s debut on a U.S. relay in a championship meet Saturday was an unqualified success.

“It was a little overwhelming to have it actually take place,” Felix said. “I’ve thought about it for so long.”

* Rookie Leroy Dixon held off world record-holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica on the anchor of the sprint relay, thanks in part to the cushion provided by Gay, the runner many thought should have anchored the U.S. relay team.

Dixon found out he would anchor Friday night, giving him a day to battle nerves.

“Before the race, [relay coach Jon] Drummond told me we had the world on our shoulders,” Dixon said.

After several days of poor attendance, few of the 36,000 available seats were empty Saturday. The weather also has taken a turn for the better, with temperatures dipping below 90 degrees.

* Saturday’s big events: The U.S. winning both sprint relays for the first time since 1987 (officially, that is; the U.S. also won both in 2001, then had each disqualified for doping violations).

* Sunday’s big event: The men’s 5,000 meters. Bernard Lagat is going for a 1,500-5000 double win, achieved only by Morocco’s Hicham El-Guerrouj (2004) and Finland’s Paavo Nurmi (1924) at the Olympics.

* Quotes of the Day: “We wanted to make it interesting.” -- Darvis Patton, leadoff U.S. relay runner, on the clunky exchange between Gay and Wallace Spearmon.

“Tyson had a nice little push at the end, too. Maybe football’s in his career.” -- Spearmon on Gay pushing Dixon during their exchange.

“I gave him [Dixon] a slight push to give him an edge, and he almost fell.” -- Gay on the exchange.

-- Philip Hersh

Philip Hersh covers Olympic sports for The Times and the Chicago Tribune.