If you drop the baton, are you allowed to pick it up on the next lap rather than go back to get it?

No. The rules state that the baton must make its way all the way around the track for every lap.

runthecountry wrote:

would you be allowed to keep running and pick it up the next time around

GO GATOR is wrong!! Yes you are allowed to pick it up. Of course you will be disqualified but that wasn't the question.

I believe you can, but only if it's a 4x42.2, on a track.

I believe if you drop it on an odd lap you have to pick it up on the next odd lap and if on an even pick up on the next even.

This wouldn't be fair. It's the runners fault he dropped it, why should he have the advantage of not having to run with a baton for a lap while every one else does. This seems pretty clear cut. If you drop it you have to pick it up you can't keep running without it.

If you drop the baton during the DMR, you're supposed to do your best to steal the baton of another team. When that team gets their baton stolen, they steal one from another team, so on and so forth. For every leg of the DMR, the team without a baton doesn't continue past that leg.

Just get the spare from Larry.

IAAF rule 170.6 says

The baton shall be carried by hand throughout the race. Athletes are not permitted to wear gloves or to place material (other than those permitted by Rule 144.2(f)) or substances on their hands in order to obtain a better grip of the baton. If dropped, it shall be recovered by the athlete who dropped it. He may leave his lane to retrieve the baton provided that, by doing so, he does not lessen the distance to be covered. In addition, where the baton is dropped in such a way that it moves sideways or forward in the direction of running (including beyond the finish line), the athlete who dropped it, after retrieving it,

must return at least to the point where it was last in his hand, before continuing in the race. Provided these procedures are adopted where applicable and no other athlete is impeded, dropping the baton shall not result in disqualification. If an athlete does not follow this Rule, his team shall be disqualified.

There's nothing in there that says you can't wait till the next lap to pick up the baton. There's not even anything in rule 170 (the rule for relays) that says the lap wouldn't count, or that the baton has to complete all laps. You just have to pick up the baton and return to where you dropped it if it rolled.

That returning to where you dropped it part would ruin everything, because you'd still have to stop and turn around. Otherwise you could try to scoop it up without stopping.

It surprises me that there's nothing in there saying the baton has to go the full distance. It just has to make every exchange legally. I suppose you could take the baton, set it down carefully in lane 3, then run 3 laps and pick it up again. It would be stupid, but legal.

"The baton shall be carried by hand throughout the race"

What part of "throughout" do you not understand?

What part of "the baton shall be carried by hand throughout the race" don't you understand ?

moron with a GED wrote:

"The baton shall be carried by hand throughout the race"

What part of "throughout" do you not understand?

That's not specific enough for an official rule, and doesn't specify a context for what happens "throughout" the race.

Maybe they mean you can only carry the baton in your hand, as opposed to sticking it to a magnetic baton-carrier on your singlet. But that doesn't say anything about what happens when the baton is on the ground.

And if they meant you had to carry the baton all the time, why would they follow up by saying it's ok to drop it? Obviously you're allowed to not be carrying it at some point in the race, and there is no limit to how long you can stand around without it.

Maybe "throughout" means the whole distance, instead of just the whole time? Well that's just one interpretation of "throughout." A rule that's open to interpretation is no rule at all.

To fit your interpretation, it should be written "the baton shall cover the entire race distance in the runner's hand."

You are either trolling or completely dense - I'm guessing both.

Deadman Running wrote:

You are either trolling or completely dense - I'm guessing both.

Agreed. There's not a track official anywhere that would read that rule and think the baton didn't have to be carried.

Btw, Deadman Running, I laughed when I saw you posted my same thoughts right after me.

not very smart are you?

"the baton shall cover the entire race distance in the runner's hand."

is the same as

"The baton shall be carried by hand throughout the race."

Furthermore, it's only "ok" to drop the baton if you pick it up and then return to the exact same spot it was dropped. Hence, the baton cannot travel any distance without being in your hand, and you cannot travel any distance without the baton in hand.

If you wanted to run an entire lap without the baton, that's fine and probably legal. However, you'd have to run that lap backwards, pickup the baton, then run it forwards again.