Medal changes after DQs

Wallace Spearmon (left) crosses his lane marker next to countryman Shawn Crawford, a mistake that cost him a medal. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

BEIJING - With the adrenaline rush that came from finishing third in the men's 200-meter final, American Wallace Spearmon lifted Olympic champion Usain Bolt off the ground in celebration at the National Stadium. Wrapped in an American flag and ready for a victory lap, Spearmon reveled in his place in the historic dash. Moments later, Spearmon would be disqualified and hand the flag to teammate Shawn Crawford without a word.

Spearmon was disqualified for a lane violation for running on the inside lane. Video showed Wallace taking a few steps on the line as he rounded the final curve. Team USA initially protested the disqualification, but later accepted the ruling. While looking more closely at the 200 final, team officials saw a lane violation by second-place finisher Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles and protested his finish. Officials upheld the US protest and disqualified Martina, moving Crawford into silver medal position and Walter Dix to bronze.

"OK, so they're saying Wallace Spearmon stepped out," said Crawford. "The second-place guy stepped out. Well, hopefully, I hope Usain stepped out, too. So, that means I'll go home with the gold. Not the way I wanted to go home with it. If two people stepped out, hey, that's a gold medal for me."

Crawford was making a light-hearted comment before the final results of the protest were known. But when he turned serious, his sympathy went to teammate and Olympic Village suitemate Spearmon. Crawford wanted to go back to the suite and give his medal to Spearmon, but he knew the disqualified sprinter would not accept it.

"When I was in the mixed zone and they kept grabbing me and saying, 'Son, son, son,' I looked up and saw that my name had moved from fourth to third," said Crawford. "Then, they told me, 'It appears that Wallace Spearmon has been disqualified.' I was like, 'What?' I thought maybe they had analyzed the times again and my time was faster than his.

"This isn't the way I wanted to go home with a medal. I would love to have crossed in the third-place position. I looked at the replays and I saw that when he stepped on the line I didn't feel it gave him an advantage. I feel he was well deserving of a bronze place medal. That's heartbreaking. If it was me, I would have probably broke down and cried on worldwide television.

"You never picture yourself coming home with a medal due to disqualification. It's going to be a hollow feeling. Every time I look at it, I'm going to be like, 'This medal was given to me. I didn't deserve it.' "

Unhappy with his original fifth-place finish, Dix also breezed through the mixed zone with little comment. But he will be back on the medal podium with his second bronze of the Beijing Olympics.