BEIJING (AP) -Jeremy Wariner ran the anchor leg as the U.S. won the men's 1,600-meter relay in an Olympic record time.

LaShawn Merritt, the 400-meter champion, 400-meter hurdles gold medalist Angelo Taylor, David Neville and Wariner finished in 2 minutes, 55.39 seconds in Saturday's final, giving the United States gold medals in both the men's and women's 1,600 relays.

Bahamas took silver at 2:58.03, edging bronze medalist Russia in 2:58.06.

It was the seventh consecutive Olympics the Americans have crossed the line first in this event, although the Sydney 2000 championship team was stripped of the gold medal for a doping violation.

The relay medals were important for the U.S. after both the men's and women's 400-meter relay teams were eliminated in the heats.