Sprinter Darvis Patton gets some redemption in relay qualifying

LONDON — It took a fraction more than 37 seconds to change so much for Darvis Patton.

He knew two days earlier he’d run on the U.S. team’s 400-meter relay but didn’t consider it official until he hit the track Friday, so now he must update his Twitter profile to reflect his third Olympics. And then there was avoiding the acute agony of hearing a baton cling against the ground, a petite sound that proved so haunting.

“To me, it’s business as usual,” Patton said. “I’ve just been on the unfortunate end of it a lot of times.”

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Good fortune at long last descended through the camera flashes at Olympic Stadium, the 34-year-old with the star-crossed past enjoying a buoyant present. The U.S. relay team set an American record while qualifying first with a time of 37.38 seconds.

And Patton ran the second leg, and he got the baton around, and he got it around in possibly the last Olympics race he will ever run.

“I whispered to him, ‘Third time is the charm,’” said U.S. teammate Justin Gatlin. “He’s been in a couple of the bobbles in the last couple championships. I said, you know what, the next Olympics you go to, something is going to happen.

“And now he’s an American record holder, at the end of his career. He said this might be his last Olympics, and to go out with an American record, that’s huge.”

In 2008, it was the ghastly failure to complete the exchange with Tyson Gay that robbed the U.S. of a spot in the 400-meter relay Olympic finals. In 2009, it was a disqualification at the world championships for an improper pass with Shawn Crawford. In the 2011 world championships, Patton was bumped and fell and separated his shoulder to submarine U.S. hopes there.

No such trouble Friday, as the U.S. sped by the old national mark of 37.40, last reached in 1993.

“I think complete redemption would be crossing that line to get on that podium here in this stadium,” Patton said. “If we walk away with a gold, that would be complete redemption. I’ve had some problems in the past. But put that behind me, came forward and got an American record.”

And, at least for 24 hours or so, a spot in national history.

“Guys like Maurice Greene, Michael Johnson, Andre Cason, Carl Lewis, Dennis Mitchell, Leroy Burrell — I mean, I’m named with those guys,” Patton said. “And ahead of those guys, at least for this relay. It’s pretty hard to put into words what I’m feeling right now.”

Patton gets nervous, he said, when he contemplates the baby boy he’s expecting in January. Not Friday, even with the weight of history tugging at his ankles.

Handed the baton again, he delivered, in every sense. All that’s left is to see whether he gets another chance to race for gold Saturday in the 400-meter relay finals.

“If I’m a part of it, I’ll be excited,” Patton said. “If I’m not, I’ll be the biggest cheerleader. Pompoms and a skirt.”

Told that would be quite a sight, Patton said: “Hey, I’ll do it if we get the gold medal. You have my word.”

bchamilton@tribune.com

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