US chief blasts Britain

US Track and Field, headed by chief executive Doug Logan, remain furious with the way officials from UK Athletics behaved in Berlin.

Although both Great Britain and the USA advanced through their men's sprint relay heat with ease on Friday night, the team headed by Charles van Commenee (pictured, right) claimed that an American changeover was illegal.

Officials reviewed the evidence provided by Great Britain and duly disqualified the USA.

Britain then took advantage one night later to claim bronze behind the superior quartets from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

"One of the highest-ranking Brits in all of sport approached me after the men's 100 metre final and openly discussed his admiration for the way Tyson Gay carried himself in defeat,” said Logan.

"He described it as the finest display of sportsmanship he had ever seen.

"Having our friends from the playing fields of Eton then file their protest against us certainly hurt."

Logan also claimed his US team - which topped the medal table with 10 golds, six silvers and six bronzes - would never stoop so low.

"There is an element of politics and sportsmanship that goes into any country's decision to lodge or not lodge a protest," he added.

"While our competitive status makes us targets, it also makes us hesitant to file protests against other countries' athletes, except when medals or the ability of our athletes to advance through the rounds is at stake.

"For instance, in the men's 110m hurdle heats here in Berlin, a competitor had clearly run in one of our athlete's lanes.

"But because our athlete qualified with no problem, we didn't file a protest. It simply would be bad international relations."

But Van Commenee - who was delighted with a haul of six medals in Berlin, one more than a pre-championship prediction that had looked optimistic - hit back.

He claimed Great Britain did not lodge a protest but admitted evidence from their video support staff had been used by judges.

"I just reminded the officials of their job - they needed a bit of help," he said.

"We tell our athletes to be alert on the track, and officials need to be alert off the track.

"We practise hard to get the baton round safely and within the rules, and those rules need to be applied fairly."