LONDON — What American sprinters could not do on their own they did together. They defeated their rivals from Jamaica in the women's 400-meter relay Friday at Olympic Stadium, and they did it in world-record time.

For the first time since the 2000 Olympics, the U.S. women completed four legs around the track. They treated the baton like the Crown Jewels.

Carmelita Jeter, an also-ran in the 100 and 200, accepted the baton with no hesitation or wasted motion and powered down the straight to a gold medal. The U.S. smashed one of the sport's oldest and most suspicious records with a time of 40.82. East Germany had owned the mark of 41.37 since 1985.

"You know what, I knew these women were going to do their job, they were going to make it happen for me," Jeter said. "All I had to do was bring the stick home."

Jeter finished second in the 100 to Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and third in the 200, behind teammate Allyson Felix and Fraser-Pryce. She sprinted an extra 100 Friday, carried along by a surge of joy after she pointed at the clock and screamed.

"I was thinking Olympic record and when I saw world record I said, 'Oh, my, gosh,' " said Felix, who ran the second leg and won her second gold. "This is crazy."

Tianna Madison of Sanford, Fla., beat Jamaica's Fraser-Pryce out of the blocks and Felix extended the lead against Sherone Simpson. Jamaica finished second in national-record time of 41.41.

The U.S. women had problems staying in the exchange zone and holding on to the baton at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. They hadn't won the event since 1996. On Friday, they were flawless. They had been fine-tuning handoffs with relay coach Jon Drummond and were determined to avoid embarrassment.

"We had a cloud hanging over us with people saying, 'They can't do it, they're going to drop the stick,' " said Jeter, who pushed a 5-meter lead to 10. "We did it!"

For the U.S. men, an unpleasant surprise. With their top two quarter milers injured and unable to compete, the Americans cobbled together a team for the 1,600-meter relay.

Hurdler Angelo Taylor, straining and spent four days after he ran the 400 hurdles, was passed with 50 meters to go on the final leg by the Bahamas' Ramon Miller. After winning the Olympic event 16 times, the U.S. was second best. The U.S. men's 400 relay team qualified with the fastest time and an American record of 37.38, with Jeff Demps leading off and Justin Gatlin anchoring. Jamaica, with Yohan Blake in its lineup, ran 37.39.

American Morgan Uceny, who tripped and fell in the 1,500 meters at the world championships last summer, fell again, her heels clipped just as the runners were going into the last lap in a tight bunch. Turkey's Asli Cakir Alptekin won her country's first track and field gold medal in 4:10.23.

Ethiopia's Deseret Defar upset teammate Tirunesh Dibaba in the women's 5,000 meters.

Dibaba was attempting to win both the 10,000 and 5,000 in consecutive Olympics.